The differential tissue expression of inflammatory, oxidative stress, and apoptosis markers in human uncontrolled non-heart-beating donors.

Abstract

Uncontrolled non-heart-beating donor (UNHBD) transplantation offers a major opportunity to ameliorate the effects of the donor shortage. However, little is known about the true status of the organs obtained from these donors. UNHBD transplantation is performed under unfavorable conditions and involves exposure to several harmful stimuli that have been identified as triggers for immediate inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and apoptotic phenomena. This adverse scenario could explain the higher rates of graft dysfunction due to primary nonfunction traditionally observed in NHBD. Our aim was to assess the expression of proinflammatory, oxidative, and apoptotic markers in liver, lung, and pancreas tissue samples obtained from UNHBD and to compare these expression levels with those observed in brain-dead donors (BDD).