Influence of gender on ischemia-reperfusion injury in lungs in an animal model

As with other organ transplants even lung transplantation raises the question of the possibility of the influence of gender on ischemia-reperfusion injury. This is a current topic especially for increasingly utilized method of lung transplantation from non-heart-beating donors, where reperfusion preceded by a period of warm and cold ischemia with subsequent treatment options for lung graft reperfusion. For measurements we used our laboratory previously created and validated animal model for ex vivo lung transplantation. As with other organ systems of our monitoring resulted protective effect of female sex on ischemia reperfusion lung injury. In two of the three parameters that were monitored, we found a significant difference. In females, higher oxygen transfer ability after reperfusion was manifested as well as lower perfusion pressure (vascular compliance). Conversely, weight gain (the development of pulmonary edema) in males was not significant difference from the females. These conclusions could cause further studies leading to influence the selection of appropriate donor grafts.