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Innovative Strategies for Organ Preservation in Heart Transplantation: Uniform Cooling Preservation and Ex-situ Normothermic Perfusion
Published on: November 28, 2025
Decrease in donor heart injury by recombinant clusterin protein in cold preservation with University of Wisconsin
Qiunong Guan1, Shuyuan Li, Gordon Yip
1Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Immunity and Infection Research Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and the Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Surgery
|November 18, 2011
Summary
Supplementing cold preservation solutions with recombinant clusterin (rCLU) protein protects donor hearts from cold ischemic injury, improving graft survival in transplantation models.
Area of Science:
- Transplantation immunology
- Organ preservation
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Donor organ injury during cold preservation compromises graft survival in transplantation.
- Clusterin (CLU), a chaperonic protein, enhances resistance to cold ischemic injury in donor hearts.
- Recombinant CLU protein (rCLU) supplementation is investigated for protecting donor organs during cold storage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the protective effects of recombinant clusterin (rCLU) protein on donor organs during cold storage.
- To assess rCLU's efficacy in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution for preserving hearts before transplantation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized in vitro human endothelial cell cultures and in vivo mouse heart transplantation models.
- Assessed cell membrane integrity and death via lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and ethidium bromide staining.
- Determined donor organ injury through functional recovery, histological, and biochemical analyses.
Main Results:
- rCLU supplementation protected endothelial cells from cold-induced necrosis, reducing LDH release and necrotic cell counts.
- rCLU enhanced cell membrane fluidity at cold temperatures, contributing to its protective effect.
- In vivo, rCLU-preserved heart grafts showed improved functional recovery, reduced inflammation, and less cell death, with lower recipient serum LDH and creatine kinase levels.
Conclusions:
- Supplementation of clusterin (CLU) protein in cold preservation solutions shows potential for improving donor organ preservation in transplantation.
- rCLU demonstrates protective capabilities against cold ischemic injury in donor hearts.
