Background

Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is associated with early and late graft failure after liver transplantation. A major mechanism is leukocyte adhesion to endothelium followed by release of reactive oxygen intermediates. We examined whether desferriexochelin 772SM (D-Exo), a lipid soluble iron chelator that prevents hydroxyl radical formation, can enhance the capacity of recombinant P-selectin glycoprotein ligand immunoglobulin (rPSGL-Ig), a glycoprotein that binds to P-selectin and inhibits neutrophil adhesion, to protect against I/R injury in an ex vivo rat liver model.

Methods

Rat livers were harvested and stored for 6 hr at 4 degrees C in University of Wisconsin solution and then perfused with oxygenated whole blood for 2 hr. Three groups were studied (n=6 rats/group): an untreated control group; a group that received 0.4 mg/kg rPSGL-Ig intraportally at the time of harvest; and a group that received 0.4 mg/kg rPSGL-Ig plus 1 micromol D-Exo intraportally both at the time of harvest and at the onset of reperfusion. Liver portal venous blood flow was assessed during perfusion, and at the end of each experiment, liver samples were collected for blinded histological evaluation and biochemical analyses.

Results

Livers treated with D-Exo + rPSGL-Ig had significantly higher blood flow than livers treated with rPSGL-1Ig alone (P<0.05), and both treatment groups had higher blood flow than controls (P<0.001). Production of carbonyl proteins, a protein oxidation product, was significantly reduced in the D-Exo + rPSGL-1Ig group (P<0.02 vs. controls), but not in the rPSGL-Ig alone group. Total reduced glutathione was significantly higher than controls in the D-Exo + rPSGL-Ig group (P<0.001 vs. controls), but not in the rPSGL-Ig alone group, indicating less oxidative stress in the D-Exo-treated group. Production of malondialdehyde, an index of lipid peroxidation, was significantly less than controls in both treatment groups (P<0.03). Histopathological findings paralleled these results with Banffs scores of 3.3+/-0.5, 1.8+/-0.4, and 1.3+/-0.5 in the control, rPSGL-Ig alone, and D-Exo plus rPSGL-Ig groups, resp.

Conclusion

rPSGL-Ig provides partial protection against I/R injury to ex vivo rat livers; however, the addition of D-Exo substantially increases protection by reducing oxidative injury. These findings may have clinical relevance in preventing the consequences of I/R injury after liver transplantation.