Protective effect of ulinastatin against ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat small bowel transplantation

INTRODUCTION: We aimed, to evaluate the protective effects of ulinastatin (UTI) against graft ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat small bowel transplantation (SBT). METHODS: Thirty-six recipients of rat SBT were randomly divided into three groups: 1, normal control, the graft was implanted immediately after harvest; 2, grafts preserved for 4 hours; and 3, grafts preserved for 4 hours and UTI administered to the recipients intravenously (50000 U/kg/d). Variables included pathological score and content of Na+-K+-ATPase, xanthine oxidase (XOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) in the transplanted small intestine. RESULTS: The cold preservation caused moderate injury to the graft which was manifested by pathological changes as well as elevated XOD and MDA and decreased Na+-K+-ATPase and GSH content. Application of UTI diminished these changes. CONCLUSIONS: UTI may exert protective effects against the ischemia-reperfusion injury of transplanted small intestine thereby promoting structural and functional recovery of the graft.