Attenuation of Acute Rejection in a Rat Liver Transplantation Model by a Liver-Targeted Dextran Prodrug of Methylprednisolone

The use of methylprednisolone (MP) and other corticosteroids for the treatment of acute liver allograft rejection is associated with severe toxicities in non-target tissues. Therefore, selective delivery of MP to the liver may improve its efficacy and alleviate its side effects. We investigated the effects of a novel liver-targeted dextran prodrug of MP (DMP) in an orthotopic rat liver transplantation (OLT) model