A Free Radical Scavenger, Edaravone, Prevents Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Liver Grafts From Non–Heart-Beating Donors

BackgroundDue to the increase in liver transplantation, the donor shortage has become a serious problem, requiring marginal, non–heart-beating donors (NHBDs). The aims of this study were to evaluate the cytoprotective effect of edaravone, a free radical scavenger, on warm ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury of liver grafts from NHBDs.MethodsRat livers were harvested from heart-beating donors (HB group) or from NHBDs undergoing cardiac arrest for 30 minutes led by thoracotomy (NHB group), and reperfused for 60 minutes with Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate buffer after cold preservation for 6 hours. In another group (ED group), warm ischemic livers from NHBDs were reperfused with buffer containing edaravone (1 mg/L) after cold preservation.ResultsIn the ED group, portal flow volume, bile production, and energy charge were significantly ameliorated. Lipid peroxidation, elevation of hepatic enzymes, and release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta were significantly alleviated, compared with the NHB group.ConclusionsThese results suggested that edaravone has suppressive effects on warm I/R injury in liver grafts from NHBDs.