Influence of temperature on the quality of hypothermic preservation of isolated rat livers.

Abstract

The function normothermally perfused isolated liver will be determined in our future experiments for the assessment of the quality of previous hypothermic preservation performed by means of various preservation solutions. As the opinions on the optimal storage temperature of organs differ, the aim of the present work was to find a proper storage temperature which would be suitable for our experiments. A comparison of liver preservation using simplified UW solution (UWs) at various temperatures was performed. During the isolation the liver was flushed by 50 ml of UWs through the portal vein and stored for 24 h either at 0 degree or 10 degrees C. The isolated liver was then perfused in a recirculation manner at 37 degrees C. The livers that were stored at 0 degree C showed only mild injury resulting in a slower bile flow rate in comparison with the control group without preservation; the results were only marginally significantly different. The livers that were stored at 10 degrees C showed more pronounced injury (higher portal resistance, higher ALT and AST activity in perfusate, higher water content in livers and slower bile flow) in comparison with other groups. Storage temperature of 0 degree C seems to be more convenient for our future experiments.