Microcirculatory disturbances and leucocyte adherence in transplanted livers after cold storage in Euro-Collins,UW and HTK solutions

Integrity of the hepatic microcirculation and maintenance of endothelial cell viability are critical components in preventing primary non-function after liver transplantation. Therefore, hepatic microcirculation and leucocyte-endothelial interaction were studied in rat livers stored for 1 h in Euro-Collins (EC), University of Wisconsin (UW), and histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) solutions and subsequently transplanted. One hour after transplantation surgery, the livers were exposed under an intravital fluorescence microscope. After injection of the leucocyte marker acridine orange (1 mol/kg), six pericentral fields were observed for 30 s and experiments were recorded continuously. The percentage of perfused sinusoids was reduced in the livers in the EC group (82.9%) in contrast to the UW (93.2%) and HTK groups (91.0%). Livers in the EC group showed a reduction in the diameters of pericentral sinusoids (7.3±0.2 m; mean±SEM) compared with the UW group (9.5±0.2 m; P<0.05) and HTK group (10.2±0.8 m; P<0.05), indicating substantial cell swelling in livers stored in EC solution. Permanent adherence of leucocytes was most frequently observed in the EC group (33.5±1%), while this phenomenon was less pronounced in the UW group (14.5+1.1%; P<0.05) and HTK group (16.3±0.7%; P<0.05). Conversely, temporary adherence of leucocytes was reduced in the EC group (19.7+1.3%) compared with the UW group (30.5+2.1%) and the HTK group (34.4+0.8%). Microcirculatory failure and cell swelling in the EC group might be due to the lack of osmotic substances or oxygen radical scavengers included in UW (allopurinol, glutathione) and HTK (mannitol) solutions. In conclusion, cold storage of livers in UW and HTK solutions results in better preservation of the microcirculation and prevention of adhesion of leucocytes after transplantation compared with the EC solution.