Topical hepatic hypothermia plus ischemic preconditioning: analysis of bile flow and ischemic injuries after initial reperfusion in rats

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of the topical liver hypothermia and IPC combination against I/R injury after initial reperfusion. METHODS: In 32 Wistar rats, partial liver ischemia was induced for 90 minutes in normothermia (IN), ischemic preconditioning (IPC), 26ºC topical hypothermia (H) and 26ºC topical hypothermia plus IPC (H+IPC). MAP, body temperature and bile flow were recorded each 15 minutes. Plasmatic injury markers and tissue antioxidant defenses were assessed after 120 minutes of reperfusion. RESULTS: MAP and body temperature remained constant during all experiment. Bile flow returned to levels similar to controls after 45 minutes of reperfusion in the H and H+IPC groups and increased significantly in comparison to the NI and IPC groups after 105 and 120 minutes. AST and ALT increased significantly in the normothermic groups in comparison to controls. TBARS levels decreased significantly in the H+IPC group in comparison to the other groups whereas Catalase levels increased significantly in the IPC group. SOD levels were significantly higher in the H group in comparison to all groups. CONCLUSION: The induction of 26ºC topical hypothermia associated or not to IPC protected the ischemic liver against ischemia/reperfusion injuries and allowed an early recovery of the hepatic function.