title: Addition of a kidney to the normothermic ex vivo perfused porcine liver model does not increase cytokine response.
abstract: The addition of a kidney to the ex vivo liver perfused model may facilitate the circuit homeostatic balance of important biochemical parameters (i.e. pH changes, urea and creatinine, or glucose levels) but might also increase the inflammatory reaction produced. In this study, we compared the production of various cytokines between liver-kidney and liver-alone circuits. Seven livers were harvested from female pigs and perfused for 6 h. In five additional experiments, a kidney was also harvested and connected in parallel. Blood samples for interleukins (IL) 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, interferon (IFN)-γ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were collected before perfusion and at hours 1, 2, 4 and 6 postperfusion. In the combined liver-kidney circuit, a significant increase was present only for IL-6 and IL-8, but this did not differ significantly from those recorded in the liver-alone circuit. All other cytokines were not modified from baseline levels. The addition of a kidney to the perfusion circuit does not stimulate a greater inflammatory reaction than that of the liver alone and therefore further confirms the safety of the experimental setups in view of more delicate experiments requiring strict homeostatic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Leicester General Hospital, University of Leicester, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK. wenchung813@btinternet.com
authors.forename: Wen Yuan
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Gianpiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gravante
authors.forename: Dhya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Al-Leswas
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alzaraa
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sorge
authors.forename: Seok Ling
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pollard
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Metcalfe
authors.forename: Ashley R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Dennison
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D007668:Kidney / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000502:physiology*; D010477:Perfusion; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines