Hydrogen-rich solution attenuates cold ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat liver transplantation.

Abstract

Liver transplantation faces challenges related to marginal donor grafts, where ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) can lead to primary non-function and graft loss. This study examined whether hydrogen-enriched University of Wisconsin (UW) preservation solution could reduce IRI in an isogenic orthotopic rat liver transplant model. Grafts were stored in hydrogen-rich UW solution prepared using a hydrogen-rich water bath, and samples were collected 6 hours post-reperfusion. Compared with controls, the hydrogen-enriched group exhibited significantly lower serum hepatic enzyme levels, markedly improved histological damage scores, reduced oxidative stress markers, decreased hepatocyte apoptosis, a tendency toward lower proinflammatory cytokine expression, and significantly elevated heme oxygenase (HO)-1 protein levels. These findings indicate that hydrogen-rich preservation solution confers both functional and morphological protection against cold IRI, with HO-1 upregulation identified as a key contributing mechanism.

Mechanism

Storage in hydrogen-enriched UW solution upregulates heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression, which in turn suppresses oxidative damage, hepatocyte apoptosis, and proinflammatory cytokine production, thereby mitigating cold ischemia-reperfusion injury in liver grafts.