Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 21, 2005; 11(19): 2994-2997
Published online May 21, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i19.2994
Protective effect of L-arginine preconditioning on ischemia and reperfusion injury associated with rat small bowel transplantation
Bin Cao, Ning Li, Yong Wang, Jie-Shou Li
Bin Cao, Department of Surgery, Nanjing University Medical School, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Ning Li, Yong Wang, Jie-Shou Li, Department of Surgery, Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210002, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Bin Cao, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China. caobin3333@sina.com.cn
Telephone: +86-25-83918293 Fax: +86-25-4803956
Received: February 28, 2004
Revised: March 2, 2004
Accepted: April 16, 2004
Published online: May 21, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the protective effect and possible mechanism of L-arginine preconditioning on ischemia and reperfusion injury associated with small bowel transplantation (SBT).

METHODS: Male inbred Wistar rats weighting between 180 and 250 g were used as donors and recipients in the study. Heterotopic rat SBT was performed according to the techniques of Li and Wu. During the experiment, intestinal grafts were preserved in 4 °C Ringer’s solution for 8 h before being transplanted. Animals were divided into three groups. In group 1, donors received intravenous L-arginine (50 mg/kg, 1 mL) injection 90 min before graft harvesting. However, donors in control group were given normal saline (NS) instead. In group 3, six rats were used as sham-operated control. Specimens were taken from intestinal grafts 15 min after reperfusion. Histological grading, tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels were assessed. The graft survival of each group was monitored daily until 14 d after transplantation.

RESULTS: Levels of MDA and MPO in intestine of sham-operated rats were 2.0±0.22 mmol/g and 0.66±0.105 U/g. Eight hours of cold preservation followed by 15 min of reperfusion resulted in significant increases in tissue MDA and MPO levels. Pretreatment with L-arginine before graft harvesting resulted in lower enhancement of tissue levels of MDA and MPO and the differences were significant (4.71±1.02 mmol/g vs 8.02±3.49 mmol/g, 1.03±0.095 U/g vs 1.53±0.068 U/g, P<0.05). Besides, animals in L-arginine pretreated group had better histological structures and higher 2-wk graft survival rates comparing with that in NS treated group (3.3±0.52 vs 6±0.1, 0/6 vs 6/6, P<0.05 or 0.01).

CONCLUSION: L-arginine preconditioning attenuates ischemia and reperfusion injury in the rat SBT model, which was due to antioxidant activities partially.

Keywords: L-arginine; Small bowel transplantation