title: Prednisolone has a positive effect on the kidney but not on the liver of brain dead rats: a potencial role in complement activation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Contradictory evidence has been published on the effects of steroid treatments on the outcomes of kidney and liver transplantation from brain dead (BD) donors. Our study aimed to evaluate this disparity by investigating the effect of prednisolone administration on BD rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  BD induction was performed in ventilated rats by inflating a Fogarty catheter placed in the epidural space. Prednisolone (22.5 mg/kg) was administered 30 min prior to BD induction. After four hours of determination of BD: serum, kidney and liver tissues samples were collected and stored. RT-qPCR, routine biochemistry and immunohistochemistry were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prednisolone treatment reduced circulating IL-6 and creatinine plasma levels but not serum AST, ALT or LDH. Polymorphonuclear influx assessed by histology, and inflammatory gene expression were reduced in the kidney and liver. However, complement component 3 (C3) expression was decreased in kidney but not in liver. Gene expression of HSP-70, a cytoprotective protein, was down-regulated in the liver after treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that prednisolone decreases inflammation and improves renal function, whilst not reducing liver injury. The persistence of complement activation and the negative effect on protective cellular mechanisms in the liver may explain the disparity between the effects of prednisolone on the kidney and liver of BD rats. The difference in the molecular and cellular responses to prednisolone administration may explain the contradictory evidence of the effects of prednisolone on different organ types from brain dead organ donors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands. r.a.rebolledo@umcg.nl.
authors.forename: Rolando
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rebolledo
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Mohammed Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.forename: Petra J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ottens
authors.forename: Jian-ning
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Rutger J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ploeg
authors.forename: Henri G D
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Leuvenink
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001926:Brain Death; D003167:Complement Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D017931:DNA Primers; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D017931:DNA Primers; D011239:Prednisolone