title: Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Effects Did Not Improve Organ Quality in Brain-Dead Rats.
abstract: Effect of glucocorticoid administration on improving the outcomes of kidney and liver allografts has not been clearly elucidated. This study investigated the effect of prednisolone administration after onset of brain death (BD) on kidney and liver in a controlled rat model of BD. BD was induced in rats by inflating an epidurally placed balloon catheter. Animals were treated with saline or prednisolone (5, 12.5, or 22.5 mg/kg) one hour after the onset of BD. After 4 hours of BD, experiments were terminated and serum and tissues were collected. Tissue gene and protein expression were measured for markers of inflammation, apoptosis, and cellular stress response markers. Prednisolone caused a reduction of plasma levels of IL-6, while the tissue expression of IL-6, IL-1β, and MCP-1 in both kidney and liver were also reduced. Creatinine plasma levels, complement (C3) expression, HSP-70, HO-1, Bcl2/BAX ratio, and PMN influx did not significantly change in kidney nor liver. Plasma AST and LDH levels were increased in the prednisolone treated group. Our results demonstrate prednisolone can has an anti-inflammatory effect mediated through reducing serum circulating cytokines. However, this anti-inflammatory effect does not translate into improved kidney function and indeed was associated with increased liver injury markers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands ; Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, 8380453 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Rolando A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rebolledo
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands ; Department of Neurosurgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Mohammed Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Petra J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ottens
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Ning
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands ; Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Rutger J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ploeg
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henri G D
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Leuvenink
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001926:Brain Death / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D011239:Prednisolone