NIV Congres

Introduction Our previous results showed a protective effect in kidney function but not in liver injury with the pre-treatment of brain dead (BD) rat donors with a single high-dose of prednisolone. Therefore, this study investigated the effect on organ quality of the post-treatment BD rat donor using prednisolone.

Methods BD was induced in rats by inflating a subdurally placed balloon catheter. Animals were treated with saline or prednisolone (5, 12,5 or 22.5 mg/kg) one hour after BD induction. After 4 hours of BD serum, kidneys and livers were collected. Tissue gene expression was measured by Real Time qPCR. Tissue protein expression was detected by immunohistochemical analyses.

Results After BD period we found a significant reduction of IL-6 but not creatinine plasma levels. AST and LDH plasma levels were increased due to prednisolone treatment. Relative expression of inflammatory genes (IL-6, IL-1b and MCP-1) were significantly down-regulated in liver and kidney. Relative Complement (C3) expression wasn’t decreased in kidney and liver after prednisolone treatment.

Discussion These preliminary results confirm previously investigated anti-inflammatory effects of prednisolone in BD rats. However, this treatment did not improve kidney function and increased liver injury markers. Currently, more analyses are being performed to clarify these results.