Ischaemic Preconditioning and Intermittent Clamping does not Influence Mediators of Liver Regeneration in a Human Hepatocyte Model of Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury

AIM: The role of ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) on liver regenerationfollowing surgery remains inconclusive. The aim of the study was toassess the effect of IPC on mediators involved in regeneration producedby human hepatocytes, using an in-vitro hypoxia-reoxygenation modelto mimic ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI).METHODS: Following extraction from samples obtained fromliver resection (n=5), confluent culture flasks of hepatocytes weresubjected to IRI (1 hour hypoxia +1 hour reoxygenation), IPC prior toIRI (10 minutes hypoxia +10 minutes reoxygenation +1 hour hypoxia+1 hour reoxygenation), intermittent clamping (IC, 15 minuteshypoxia +5 minutes reoxygenation x3 +1 hour reoxygenation) andcompared to controls. The production of various mediators wasdetermined over 48 hours.RESULTS: Interleukin (IL)-8, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor(G-CSF) and IL-1-receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) were produced byhepatocytes. IPC prior to IRI did not influence the production ofIL-8, G-CSF and IL-1ra by hepatocytes compared to IRI over thestudy period. Similarly, IC did not significantly influence the profileof these mediators compared to IRI in this model.CONCLUSION: IPC, as well as IC did not influence the productionof pro-regenerative mediators in a hepatocyte model of IRI. The roleof IPC in liver regeneration remains to be determined.