Study for graft storage in small bowel transplantation with Cryopreservation method in rats

2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 12671265
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Digestive surgery
• Research Institution: JIKEI UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
• Principal Investigator: YOYAMA Yoichi Jikei Uni. School of Med. Surgery, 医学部, 助手 (80237057)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 古田 清哉 東京慈恵会医科大学, 医学部, 助手 ; YOSHIDA Seiya Jikei Uni. School of Med. Surgery
• Project Period (FY): 2000 – 2001
• Keywords: Small Bowel Transplantation / Cryopreservation

Research Abstract

Purpose: One of the most critical problems in tissue transplantation is a lack of donors, Although many researches for graft tissue preservation are in progress, study for graft storage in small bowel transplantation has not been developed. Therefore, we investigate the possibility whether small bowel grafts stored for a long time with Cryopreservation method can be applied for small bowel transplantation. Methods: Entire small bowel of inbred male LEW (RT) rats, weighing 200-300g, was used for grafts. After washing out intraluminal cavity of all blood vessels and intestinal tract with 0.9 % saline containing 0.1% of heparin, the small bowel was soaked with 1.4M glycerin at 4℃ for 1 hour. Subsequently, the graft was frozen gradually at -70℃ using a programming freezer and stored in liquid nitrogen at -196℃. The frozen grafts were thawed out rapidly in 37℃ incubator and washed out with 0.9 % saline with 0.1% heparin prior to operation. Small bowel transplantation using the preserved grafts into inbred male LEW (RT) recipients, weighing 200-300g, was performed. According to the results of preliminary studies, experimental groups were divided into four groups. Group 1 : Control (n6), Group 2 : Storage for one day (n=10), Group 3 : Storage for three days (n=8), Group 4 : Storage for one week (n=6) Results: Only four recipients in Group 2 survived for more than one month after small bowel transplantation. However, the all recipients in Group 3 and 4 died within 10 days. Discussion: Our results suggest that small bowel grafts of one day storage with Cryopreservation will be useful for small bowel transplantation, although this preservation period was much shorter than that of our expectation. To elongate the optimal period for graft storage, further investigations for storage solution, freezing and storage methods will be required.