Chlorpromazine, quinacrine, and verapamil as donor pretreatment in liver preservation, tested in the isolated perfused rat liver.

Rats were pretreated with a single iv dose of chlorpromazine (CPZ) 3 mg/kg, verapamil 1 mg/kg, or quinacrine 2 mg/kg. Livers were taken out and perfused with University of Wisconsin (UW) preservation solution and stored on ice for 48 h in the UW solution before reperfusion with erythrocyte-free and colloid-free Krebs-Hanseleit buffer at 38 degrees C in a nonrecirculating perfusion system for 2 h. CPZ- and quinacrine-pretreated livers produced significantly more bile than control livers and also released significantly less alanine aminotransferase into the perfusate at 30, 60, and 120 min of reperfusion. Aspartate aminotransferase levels were lower at 30 and 60 min of reperfusion for CPZ-pretreated livers but not at 120 min. The only difference between groups concerning lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release into the perfusate was that CPZ decreased the amount of LDH released at 60 min. Total tissue water or tissue electrolyte content of the liver tissue at the end of the reperfusion did not differ between groups. In conclusion, verapamil was ineffective when given as single dose iv pretreatment to the liver donor but pretreatment with CPZ or quinacrine appeared to improve the function of the preserved liver.