title: The effect of donor treatment with hydrogen on lung allograft function in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Because inhaled hydrogen provides potent anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects against acute lung injury, we hypothesized that treatment of organ donors with inhaled hydrogen during mechanical ventilation would decrease graft injury after lung transplantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Orthotopic left lung transplants were performed using a fully allogeneic Lewis to Brown Norway rat model. The donors were exposed to mechanical ventilation with 98% oxygen plus 2% nitrogen or 2% hydrogen for 3 h prior to harvest, and the lung grafts underwent 4 h of cold storage in Perfadex (Vitrolife, Göteborg, Sweden). The graft function, histomorphologic changes, and inflammatory reactions were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The combination of mechanical ventilation and prolonged cold ischemia resulted in marked deterioration of gas exchange when the donors were ventilated with 2% nitrogen/98% oxygen, which was accompanied by upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and proapoptotic molecules. These lung injuries were attenuated significantly by ventilation with 2% hydrogen. Inhaled hydrogen induced heme oxygenase-1, an antioxidant enzyme, in the lung grafts prior to implantation, which might contribute to protective effects afforded by hydrogen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preloaded hydrogen gas during ventilation prior to organ procurement protected lung grafts effectively from ischemia/reperfusion-induced injury in a rat lung transplantation model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: Chien-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ximei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masutani
authors.forename: Norihisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shigemura
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Billiar
authors.forename: Meinoshin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Yoshiya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Toyoda
authors.forename: Atsunori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakao
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016040:Lung Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D051381:Rats; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D014019:Tissue Donors; D019737:Transplants
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D006859:Hydrogen; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1