title: Heme oxygenase-1 protects donor livers from ischemia/reperfusion injury: the role of Kupffer cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether heme oxygenase (HO)-1 overexpression would exert direct or indirect effects on Kupffer cells activation, which lead to aggravation of reperfusion injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Donors were pretreated with cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP) or zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP), HO-1 inducer and antagonist, respectively. Livers were stored at 4 degrees C for 24 h before transplantation. Kupffer cells were isolated and cultured for 6 h after liver reperfusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Postoperatively, serum transaminases were significantly lower and associated with less liver injury when donors were pretreated with CoPP, as compared with the ZnPP group. Production of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 generated by Kupffer cells decreased in the CoPP group. The CD14 expression levels (RT-PCR/Western blots) of Kupffer cells from CoPP-pretreated liver grafts reduced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study suggests that the potential utility of HO-1 overexpression in preventing ischemia/reperfusion injury results from inhibition of Kupffer cells activation.
authors.affiliation: Organ Transplantation Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical College, 295 Xichang Road, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China. zzong@medmail.com.cn
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Han-Fei
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ming-Qing
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Yu-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019610:Cytoprotection; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D007728:Kupffer Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1