Protective Effect of Intravenous High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Glycol on Fatty Liver Preservation

Figure 1

Hepatic and mitochondrial injuries after cold ischemia. PEG 35 administration decreases aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (a) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (b) after 24 h of cold storage. Confocal microscopy of mitochondrial membrane potential stained with rhodamine 123 (green) after cold storage: mitochondrial depolarization occurs after preservation (c); however, in rats pretreated with PEG 35 conjugated to FITC, we observed bright punctate fluorescence showing polarized mitochondria (d). No PEG fluorescence has been detected in liver sinusoids, neither in hepatocytes nor bound to cell membrane (d). Ctr 1: anaesthesia and laparotomy; UW: livers preserved in UW preservation solution for 24 hours at 4°C; PEG 35: Zucker obese rats treated intravenously with PEG 35 at 10 mg/kg and steatotic livers were then subjected to 24 h cold ischemia. Data represent mean ± SEM. versus Ctr 1; versus UW.

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