ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL PRETREATMENT PROTECTS THE ENDOCRINE FUNCTION OF GRAFTS AGAINST ISCHEMIC DAMAGE DURING HETEROTOPIC PANCREATIC TRANSPLANTATION

Post-ischemic injury is one of the most important problems affecting s uccessful organ procurement and transplantation. The present study was performed to determine whether alpha-tocopherol can protect the endoc rine function of pancreatic grafts against ischemia-reperfusion injury during rat heterotopic pancreatic transplantation. Rats with streptoz otocin-induced hyperglycemia were used as recipients. The donor pancre as was removed and subjected to warm ischemia at 37 degrees C for 30, 60, 90 and 120 min, and then transplanted into a recipient. A 30-min p eriod of warm ischemia did not impair the endocrine function of the pa ncreatic grafts, which was assessed by measuring the blood glucose lev els and glucose decay constants (K), and a 60-min period of warm ische mia was considered to be the critical period for reversible tissue dam age. Pretreatment with alpha-tocopherol (20 mg/kg/day, i.v.) for seven days before graftectomy significantly decreased blood glucose levels to less than 200 mg/dl and significantly increased K values in the rec ipient rats after transplantation when compared with placebo pretreatm ent. These results suggest that alpha-tocopherol pretreatment can prot ect the endocrine function of pancreatic grafts against injury due to warm ischemia followed by reperfusion.