Study of Experimental Organ Donation Models for Lung Transplantation.

Experimental models are important tools for understanding the etiological phenomena involved in various pathophysiological events. In this context, different animal models are used to study the elements triggering the pathophysiology of primary graft dysfunction after transplantation to evaluate potential treatments. Currently, we can divide experimental donation models into two large groups: donation after brain death and donation after circulatory arrest. In addition, the deleterious effects associated with hemorrhagic shock should be considered when considering animal models of organ donation. Here, we describe the establishment of three different lung donation models (post-brain death donation, post-circulatory death donation, and post-hemorrhagic shock donation) and compare the inflammatory processes and pathological disorders associated with these events. The objective is to provide the scientific community with reliable animal models of lung donation for studying the associated pathological mechanisms and searching for new therapeutic targets to optimize the number of viable grafts for transplantation.

Anti-inflammatory effect of thalidomide in an experimental lung donor model of brain death.

Lung transplantation stands as a vital treatment for severe lung diseases, primarily sourcing organs from donors with brain death (BD). This research delved into the potential anti-inflammatory effects of thalidomide in rats with BD-induced lung complications. In this study twenty-four Wistar rats were divided into three groups: the control (CTR), brain death (BD) and brain death + thalidomide (TLD) groups. Post specific procedures, a 360 min monitoring period ensued. Comprehensive analyses of blood and heart-lung samples were conducted. Elevated IL-6 levels characterized both BD and TLD groups relative to the CTR (p = 0.0067 and p = 0.0137). Furthermore, TNF-α levels were notably higher in the BD group than both CTR and TLD (p = 0.0152 and p = 0.0495). Additionally, IL-1ß concentrations were significantly pronounced in both BD and TLD compared to CTR, with the BD group surpassing TLD (p = 0.0256). Immunohistochemical assessments revealed augmented NF-ĸB expression in the BD group in comparison to both CTR and TLD (p = 0.0006 and p = 0.0005). With this study we can conclude that BD induced acute pulmonary inflammation, whereas thalidomide manifested a notable capability in diminishing key inflammatory markers, indicating its prospective therapeutic significance in lung transplantation scenarios.