Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate and delayed graft function after prolonged cold ischemia

Several articles have compared histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution (HTK) with other preservation solutions in both liver and kidney transplantation, and the results suggest that HTK is as good or better than the criterion standard University of Wisconsin solution (UW) for short periods of cold ischemia, such as in live donation, but that it is not so efficient for longer periods of cold ischemia, causing a higher incidence of delayed graft function.

To evaluate energy levels, metabolites, and histologic findings to determine why HTK is inefficient for longer periods of cold ischemia.

Rat livers were perfused with either HTK or UW, and at various times, tissue samples were obtained for analysis of adenine triphosphate and metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography or for histologic analysis.

The high energy charge observed with HTK-perfused livers plateaued after 5 minutes, and by 60 minutes began to decrease, following the same trend as other samples. The plateau is due to excess available glucose; however, after 1 hour, it is beginning to be consumed. Low levels of uridine, required for glycogen synthesis, are found in HTK-perfused livers, which suggests that at reperfusion, there is none available, whereas the higher concentrations found in UW-perfused livers may be advantageous after reperfusion. This will be especially detrimental to use of HTK because glycogen is used up rapidly because of the presence of alpha-ketoglutarate in the solution, enabling continuation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle.

Overall, HTK seems to do well for the first 2 hours, after which any advantage observed initially starts to disappear. A liver perfused in HTK and transplanted after more than 1 hour reacts like an organ from an individual who has been starved, because of the low energy charge and absence of a glycogen store or ability to synthesis glycogen because of lack of uridine. Livers perfused with UW demonstrate higher levels of uridine and do not lose their glycogen content to the same extent as HTK-perfused livers. These findings explain in part why HTK sometimes causes delayed graft function after longer periods of cold ischemia.