Protection of fatty liver grafts with tacrolimus after rat orthotopic liver transplantation

Objective To study the protective role and possible mechanism of tacrolimus on the graft function after rat orthotopic liver transplantation with fatty liver graft.Methods Orthotopic liver transplantation transplanted with fatty liver grafts in Wistar rats were established.Rats in experimental group were treated with tacrolimus (0.3 mg /kg) while control group with normal saline during and post transplantation.The serum levels of hepatic enzymes (ALT,AST,LDH),ET,and lipid peroxidation index (SOD,CAT,MDA) were tested at 0 hour,24 hour,72 hour and 1 week after liver transplantation,and lipid peroxidation index was also measured in liver tissue homogenate at the same time point in these two groups.Ultramicroscopic morphological changes of liver tissue were checked under electron microscope,and cellular apoptosis of liver were detected using TUNEL method.Results The serum levels of ALT,AST,LDH,ET and MDA in experimental group were significantly lower than those in control group (P 0.05),while SOD and CAT levels were higher compared with the latter (P 0.05).The tissue homogenate level of SOD in experimental group was also reduced when compared with the control group (P 0.05),while SOD and CAT levels were higher than those in the control group (P 0.05).The ultramicroscopic morphological demonstrated less severe damage of liver tissue and the TUNEL assay showed less cellular apoptosis in experimental group compared with the control group.Conclusions Tacrolimus may protect graft function in rat orthotopic liver transplantation with fatty liver donor to a certain extent.The possible mechanism of tacrolimus protection may be achieved by inhibiting lipid peroxidation,lessening cellular apoptosis and alleviating reperfusion injury.