Mitochondrial and hepatic functional markers during the normothermic phase.

Abstract

Panel A shows a similar incremental rate of oxygen consumption during the rewarming period, which finally culminated in a higher peak at the beginning of the normothermic phase for the cold-to-warm group. The rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) release in the perfusate followed a similar trend to the oxygen consumption, and the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels reached higher figures at the end of the 6 hours of perfusion in the cold-to-warm group than with the HOPE+NMP. Panel B represents parameters of metabolic function of the organs during the perfusion. During the hypothermic phase, lactate levels increased slightly for the livers that had D-HOPE and were constant throughout HOPE. After rewarming, the lactate peak was comparable between groups, and then the lactate clearance was more effective in the cold-to-warm group resulting in similar levels at the end of the perfusion. There was evidence of glycogenolysis at the beginning of the D-HOPE perfusion, and thereafter the organs start to consume glucose during the NMP phase. For the HOPE+NMP group, there was a sudden drop related to perfusate change at 2-hour perfusion and then the livers start to metabolise glucose during the NMP phase. Perfusate pH was similar between groups during the perfusion. Three livers in each group produced bile during the perfusion (Panel C). The bile pH was comparable between them, as was the glucose content. In the graphs, dots represent individual organs at the time points, and the line is the median of the values for each group. For the bar graph, the median and interquartile range are represented.</p