Remote ischemic conditioning: Short-term effects on rat liver ischemic-reperfusion injury

Abstract

Introduction: Several techniques have been developed to reduce ischemic-reperfusion injury. A novel method is the remote ischemic perconditioning, applied parallel with target organ ischemia. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the extent of liver ischemic-reperfusion injury via the application of this novel method. Methods: Male Wistar rats (n = 30, 10/group) were subjected to 60-minute partial liver ischemia and 60-minute reperfusion. Rats in the perconditioned group received conditioning treatment during the last 40 minutes of liver ischemia by infrarenal aortic clamping. Hepatic and lower limb microcirculation was monitored by laser Doppler flowmeter during reperfusion. After reperfusion, liver samples were taken for routine histological examination and redox-state assessment. Serum transaminase activities and liver tissue heat-shock protein-72 expression were measured. Results: Parameters of microcirculation showed significant (p<0.05) improvement in the perconditioned group in comparison with the control. Besides the significant improvement observed in the serum alanine amino-transferase activities, significantly milder tissue injury was detected histologically in the liver sections of the perconditioned group. Moreover, significant improvement was found in the redox-state parameters. Conclusion: Perconditioning may be a reasonable possibility to reduce liver ischemic-reperfusion injury.