Iloprost for the attenuation of ischaemia/reperfusion injury in a distant organ

The objective of this study was to investigate antioxidant and cytoprotective properties of iloprost in a distant organ after ischaemia reperfusion injury. Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups. After application of anesthaesia both hindlimbs were occluded. A 2‐h reperfusion procedure was carried out after 60 min of ischemia. Study group (STU) rats ( n =10) received 10 μg kg −1 iloprost in 1 ml of saline from the tail vein 10 min before reperfusion. Control (CON) group rats ( n =10) received an equal amount of saline. The rats were sacrificed by injection of a high dose of thiopentone sodium. Blood and tissue samples (right kidneys) were taken for analysis. Differences in malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO), Na + ‐K + ATPase and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) between the groups were analysed. MPO, MDA and TAC levels in the sera of CON and STU groups were 1.60±0.26 U l −1 , 11.42±5.23 nmol ml −1 , 8.30×10 −2 ± 3.93×10 −2  nmol ml −1  h −1 and 1.07±0.11 U l −1 , 7.60±1.81 nmol ml −1 and 0.15±3.23×10 −2  nmol ml −1  h −1 ( p =0.0001, p =0.043 and p =0.0001 respectively). MPO, ATPase and MDA levels in kidneys for CON and STU groups were 1.24±0.58 U g −1 , 85.70±52.05 nmol mg −1 , 17.90±7.40 nmol ml −1 and 0.78±0.31 U g −1 , 195.90±56.13 nmol mg −1 and 10.10±0.99 nmol ml −1 ( p =0.046, p =0.0001 and p =0.009 respectively). When given prior to reperfusion, the positive effect of iloprost in the attenuation of distant organ reperfusion injury has been demonstrated. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.