Efeito do pré-condicionamento isquêmico remoto em modelo de lesão hepática por isquemia-reperfusão em ratos

Abstract

Ischemia/Reperfusion (I/R) injury is an important pathophysiological mechanism in the postoperative liver failure. Different strategies to minimize the I/R liver injury have been developed during the last decades but the results had been disappointing. Recently, the remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC), a method that involves a brief ischemic episode on an organ or tissue that subsequently affords protection to a remote organ or tissue, have been use in various experimental models with promising results. The precise pathway activated by the RIPC isn´t clear, but cytokine release modulation has been proposed as a candidate mechanism. Thirty-six male rats (Rattus norvegicus) were divided in 3 groups: Sham; I/R injury, a 45 minutes lobar (70%) liver ischemia and reperfusion; and RIPC, 6 cycles of 4 minutes of ischemia and 4 minutes of reperfusion of the right hindlimb followed by a 45 minutes lobar (70%) liver ischemia and reperfusion. Liver tissue in the affected lobe and blood samples were collected after 60 minutes and 180 minutes of reperfusion for histopathological study of liver I/R, plasma cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10) and liver aminotransferases measurement (ALT). The histopathological study demonstrated a significant lesser degree of liver necrosis in the RIPC group (p <0,001). The aminotransferases levels followed the same pattern, with significant lower levels in the RIPC group (p <0,001). The cytokines assessment showed a reduction in the expression of IL-6 in the RIPC when compared with the I/R group (p <0,01). Interleukin-10 levels were higher in the RIPC group, but the difference wasn t significant. The TNF-α measurement didn t show any difference in the groups. The RIPC model presented consistently reduced the I/R injury to the liver and the IL-6 expression was similar to the reported in other studies.