Simvastatin decreases hepatic ischaemia/reperfusion-induced liver and lung injury in rats

Liver failure is still a significant clinical problem after transplantation surgery, tissue resections (the Pringle manoeuvre) and haemorrhagic shock. The restoration of blood flow to an ischaemic region leads to tissue injury at a greater rate than the original ischaemic insult, an event termed "ischaemia-reperfusion injury" (I/R). Despite advances in surgical techniques, I/R still poses a problem of clinical importance. In this research, we studied the effect of simvastatin pretreatment on liver and lung injury induced by hepatic I/R. Rats were subjected to 30 min of ischaemia followed by 24 h of reperfusion. Simvastatin (10 mg/kg) was administered orally from three days before the operation. After the reperfusion time, serum ALT, AST, LDH and TNF a levels were studied and liver and lung tissues were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and TUNEL to detect apoptotic cells. Serum aminotransferase activity and LDH and TNFalpha levels were increased markedly by hepatic I/R, and these were suppressed significantly by simvastatin. The tissue injury index and the number of apoptotic cells via TUNEL staining in the liver and lungs were higher in the I/R group than in the I/R + simvastatin group. These results suggest that simvastatin ameliorates I/R-induced liver and lung tissue damage by inhibiting the level of inflammation and the apoptotic pathways. Simvastatin administration may therefore provide protection against the adverse effects of I/R injury in liver transplantation.