Objective:To study the role and mechanism of matrine in preventing cold ischemia and reperfusion injury of sinusoidal endothelial
cells (SEC) in rat
orthotopic liver
transplantation (OLT). Methods:168 syngeneic SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: untreated group, low-dose treated group, high-dose treated group and pseudo-treated group. After 5 hours of preservation in Ringer's (LR) solution, orthotopic implantation of the donor liver was performed. At 1 h, 2 h, 4 h and 24 h after reperfusion, 6 rats were killed in each group to collect the serum and the median lobe of liver for assay.Results: In both treated groups, the level of hylluronic acid (HA) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) decreased significantly at different times post-transplantation, and the pathological changes of SEC ameliorated, too. Matrine markedly inhibited the activation of Kupffer cells and their release of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and suppressed the hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) level and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Conclusion:Matrine can prevent SEC from cold ischemia and reperfusion injury in rat orthotopic liver transplantation.