The protection of panax notoginseng saponins against ischemia reperfusion injury by liver graft in rats

Objective To investigate the protection of panax notoginseng saponins（PNS） against ischemia reperfusion injury by liver graft in rats. Method The experimental rat model of orthotopie liver transplantation was set up according to Kamada＇s technique and the rats were randomly divided into three groups： normal saline control group（ group N ）, PNS preconditioning group（ group P） and sham -oper- ated groups（ group S）. The expression levels of NF - κB and intercellular adhesion molecule - 1 （ ICAM - 1 ） were detected by immunohisto- chemistry and the filtration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils（PMNs） was measured with myeloperoxidase（MPO） enzyme method in 2h, 6h and 24h after ischemia reperfusion respectively. The activities of alanine aminotransferase（ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase（AST） in the serum were also detected. Result The activation of NF -κB in group N increased significantly at 2h after reperfusion and then decreased. The expression level of ICAM - 1 increased significantly at 2h after reperfusion, and reached its peak level at 6h in group N. The expression level of ICAM - 1 was significantly lower in group P than that in group N（ P 〈0. 05）. The ICAM - 1 level was positively related with the fil- tration of PMNs and the injury of liver graft. Conclusion The activation of NF - κB and the expression of ICAM - 1 are induced by ischemia reperfusion in rat liver transplantation. The transcription and expression of inflammation media decrease significantly with the treatment of PNS and the ischemia reperfusion injury by liver graft in rats is improved. Key words: Liver transplantation;  Ischemia reperfusion;  NF-κB;  Intercellular adhesion molecule - 1 ;  Panax notoginseng saponins