ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury remains a significant factor influencing early liver graft function. The aim of this study was to assess the impact on hepatic ischemia as reflected by catecholamine concentrations of different methods of organ preservation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Catecholamine levels were measured in 24 (n=6/group) pig livers, which underwent 30-minute warm ischemia followed by 30-minute perfusion and subsequent cold storage for 12 hours. For perfusion and preservation, we used University of Wisconsin (UW), histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK), HTK-modified with prolactin (PRL) or Ringer's solutions. Dopamine (DO) and adrenaline (ADR) concentrations in liver venous effluents were assayed using a radioimmunological method after 30 minutes of perfusion and following 12 hours of preservation. RESULTS: DO and ADR levels were higher after 12 hours preservation compared to 30 minutes of perfusion. HTK produced an increase of over 100%. Addition of PRL (20 IU/L) did not affect DO and ADR levels after 30 minutes of perfusion, but significantly decreased their concentrations at 12 hours of preservation. After UW perfusion and preservation, we observed a 10% increase in catecholamine levels as compared with postperfusion values. Preservation with Ringer's solution demonstrated significantly higher DO and ADR levels compared with other solutions. CONCLUSION: Catecholamines are present in the liver after 30 minute of perfusion and 12 hours of cold storage. The increased levels after 12 hours of preservation may be due to their release from intracellular spaces (as a controlled process or as a result of necrosis). It may play a crucial role in reperfusion injury, which, in turn, may explain the mechanism of no-reflow phenomenon.
Subject(s)
Dopamine/metabolism , Epinephrine/metabolism , Liver/metabolism , Organ Preservation Solutions , Organ Preservation/methods , Adenosine , Allopurinol , Animals , Cold Temperature , Glucose , Glutathione , In Vitro Techniques , Insulin , Mannitol , Perfusion , Potassium Chloride , Procaine , Prolactin/administration & dosage , Raffinose , Sus scrofaABSTRACT
The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE 3.1.1.7.) was determined in skeletal muscle homogenates in frogs at various time intervals (15--24 days) after denervation. At the same time changes in AChE activity were compared with morphological changes of neuromuscular end plates in these muscles. Muscle denervation caused initially, within 30 hours, a rise in AChE activity by about 30% in relation to control muscles, followed by its fall to the control values after 4--6 days. The activity decreased further reaching lowest values 15 days after denervation, when it amounted to about 65% of the value of control muscles. After that time, when regeneration of nerves set in, the activity of AChe rose again returning to the control values after 24 hours. In the initial period of denervation no correlation was found between AChE activity and morphological changes in end plates. It was found however in the later period when degenerative changes were most pronounced as well as when reinnervation was in progress.
