Background

PDE3 inhibitor (Cilostazol) has long been used as a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation and thrombosis. Recently, there have been a report on the protective effect of Cilostazol on intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in mice. We aimed to evaluate the effects of Cilostazol in a model of liver I/R injury in rats.

Methods

Male wister rats were divided into two groups(total n=30): I/R injury with and without Cilostazol. I/R injury in liver was induced by 1 h of warm ischemia of median and left lateral lobes, followed by 3h of reperfusion. The rats were euthanized at the end of reperfusion. The serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were measured.Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the significant differences between two groups. We also performed survival study to confirm the protective effect of Cilostazol on the mortality, but this time we used I/R injury model with ischemia time of 1.5 h and observed survival for 1 week. We employed Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank testing to assess survival rate.

Results

Significant reductions in the serum AST and ALT levels were seen in the Cilostazol group compared with the control group (AST; Cilostazol vs control: 2427 ± 1375 IU/l vs 4080 ± 1870 IU/l, p = 0.016, ALT; Cilostazol vs control: 2149 ± 1299 vs 3513 ± 1513 IU/l, p = 0.023, Fig1,2). Administration of Cilostazol also significantly improved the survival rate of rats with liver I/R injury (survival at day 7; Cilostazol vs control: 100% vs63%, p=0.038,Fig 3).

Conclusion

In a rat model, administration of Cilostazol attenuated the effects of liver I/R injury, and improved the survival rate.

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