Energy metabolism during cold ischemia and reperfusion in rat small intestinal transplantation: comparison of jejunal and ileal grafts.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: In segmental small intestinal transplantation, the question as to whether the jejunum or ileum is the better graft remains unclear. The authors investigated this question regarding nutrition, blood chemistry, and adaptation.

METHODS

The authors compared the jejunum and ileum as the proper portion of segmental graft in rat small intestinal transplantation, regarding energy metabolism both during cold preservation and after reperfusion using high-performance liquid chromatography, as well as histological examination.

RESULTS

In a cold preservation study, the concentrations of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the jejunum versus ileum at 0, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours of cold preservation were 1.98 +/- 0.93 versus 1.83 +/- 0.84, 0.79 +/- 0.51 versus 0.55 +/- 0.41, 0.60 +/- 0.41 versus 0.58 +/- 0.45, 0.38 +/- 0.28 versus 0.47 +/- 0.39, and 0.44 +/- 0.26 versus 0.55 +/- 0.29 (micromol/g dry weight), respectively. There were no significant differences between the jejunum and ileum at any times of preservation. Adenosine monophosphate (AMP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), total adenine nucleotides (TAN), and energy charge (EC) also showed no significant differences between the jejunum and ileum at any times of preservation. In the reperfusion study, the concentrations of ATP in jejunum versus ileum 30 minutes after reperfusion after 6, 12, and 24 hours of cold preservation were 0.68 +/- 0.19 versus 0.50 +/- 0.17, 0.71 +/- 0.51 versus 0.42 +/- 0.14, and 0.93 +/- 0.29 versus 0.75 +/- 0.47 (micromol/g dry weight), respectively. Each value was slightly higher in the jejunum than that in the ileum; however, there were no statistically significant differences. TAN showed the same changes as ATP. No significant differences were found between the jejunum and ileum in either AMP, ADP, or EC. The histological findings both just before and 30 minutes after reperfusion were also compared. However, no evident differences were found between the jejunum and ileum.

CONCLUSION

These results thus suggest that no significant differences exist between the jejunum and ileum regarding energy metabolism either during cold preservation or after reperfusion in small intestinal transplantation.