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Updated: Jun 22, 2025
Porcine Liver Transplantation Without Veno-Venous Bypass As an Extended Criteria Donor Model
Published on: August 17, 2022
Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells gene expression involvement in porcine liver
Lucas Souto Nacif1, Flávio Galvão1, Márcia Saldanha Kubrusly1
1Universidade de São Paulo - School of Medicine - Liver and Gastrointestinal Transplant Division - São Paulo (SP), Brazil.
Purpose:
Gene expressions of vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Alpha (VEGFa), Nuclear Factor Kappa-Light-Chain-Enhancer of Activated B cells (NFkB) and cytokines could be useful for identifying potential therapeutic targets to alleviate ischemia-reperfusion injury after liver transplantation. Cytokine gene expressions, VEGFa and NFkB were investigated in a preclinical swine model of liver transplantation.
Methods:
A total of 12 pigs were used as donors and recipients in liver transplantation without venovenous bypass or aortic clamping. NFkB, IL-6, IL-10, VEGFa and Notch1 gene expression were assessed. These samples were collected in two specific times: group 1 (n= 6) - control, samples were collected before recipient's total hepatectomy and group 2 - liver transplantation group (n=6), where the samples were collected one hour after graft reperfusion.
Results:
Liver transplantation was successfully performed in all recipients. Liver enzymes were elevated in the transplantation group. NFkB gene expression was significantly decreased in the transplantation group in comparison with the control group (0.62±0.19 versus 0.39±0.08; p= 0.016). No difference was observed between groups Interleucine 6 (IL-6), interleucine 10 (IL-10), VEGFa and Notch homolog 1 (Notch1).
Conclusions:
In this survey a decreased NFkB gene expression in a porcine model of liver transplantation was observed.
