Augmentor of Liver Regeneration Ameliorates Renal Tubular Epithelial Cell Injury After Rat Liver Transplantation

BackgroundAcute renal insufficiency and dysfunction are common complications after clinical liver transplantation. This study examined whether augmentor of liver regeneration (ALR) played a significant role to ameliorate renal tubular epithelial cell injury after liver transplantation.MethodsOrthotopic liver transplantation was performed from Sprague-Dawley (SD) to SD rats. Twelve recipients were randomly divided into two groups: ALR group (with recombinated human ALR 100 μg/kg  ·  d intramuscular injection postoperation) versus normal saline-treated group (with the same volume of normal saline injected intramuscularly postoperation). Rats were sacrificed at day 3 posttransplantation. Renal morphological changes in recipients were assessed with light microscopy. The expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and caspase-3 protein and mRNA in the kidney were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining.ResultsMorphological changes in renal tubular epithelial cells were not significant in either group at day 3 posttransplantation. The intragraft expression of TNF-α and caspase-3 was strikingly promoted in the normal saline-treated group and PCNA attenuated compared to the ALR group.ConclusionThese data suggested that ALR may play a role to reduce renal damage in liver transplant recipients.