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Published on: January 11, 2019
Lung preservation solution substrate composition affects rat lung oxidative metabolism during hypothermic storage
Matthias Peltz1, Timothy T Hamilton, Tian-Teng He
1Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-8879, USA.
Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
|September 7, 2005
Summary
Modifying lung preservation solutions with pyruvate or dichloroacetate (DCA) impacts oxidative metabolism during the preservation interval. These findings suggest strategies to improve lung transplant viability by optimizing storage solutions.
Area of Science:
- Organ transplantation
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
Background:
- Oxygen utilization by harvested lungs is critical for transplantation.
- Preservation solution composition affects lung metabolism during storage.
- Optimizing preservation is key to improving transplant outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how storage solution substrate composition influences pulmonary oxidative metabolism and energetics.
- To evaluate the impact of glucose, pyruvate, and dichloroacetate (DCA) on lung preservation.
- To understand metabolic changes in rat lungs during the preservation interval.
Main Methods:
- Rat lungs were harvested and stored in low-potassium dextran (LPD) solution at 10°C.
- Preservation solutions were modified with carbon-13 ((13)C)-labeled glucose or pyruvate at varying concentrations.
- Dichloroacetate (DCA) was added to pyruvate-modified solutions; oxidative metabolism and adenine nucleotide levels were quantified.
Main Results:
- Increasing pyruvate concentration in preservation solutions enhanced glutamate (13)C-enrichment, indicating increased oxidative metabolism.
- Dichloroacetate (DCA) further stimulated oxidative metabolism, particularly at lower pyruvate concentrations (4 and 8mM).
- Adenine nucleotide levels showed no significant differences, except for higher AMP in the glucose group.
Conclusions:
- Altering preservation solution substrate composition, specifically with pyruvate and DCA, significantly influences lung metabolism during allograft preservation.
- Pyruvate appears to be a more effective substrate than glucose for supporting oxidative metabolism in stored lungs.
- These findings provide insights for developing improved preservation solutions to enhance lung transplant viability.

