ABSTRACT
In order to clarify the effect of superoxide anion radicals on the “no-reflow phenomenon”, the authors examined the utility of simple cold preservation of rat limbs in replantation. They quantified such radicals, derived from erythrocytes and plasma in the preserved limb, using a chemiluminescence method employing a derivative of luciferin (CLA).
Eighty-four Lewis rat limbs were preserved at 4°C in Euro-Collins solution for 10 to 120 hr, and grafted orthotopically to isogeneic rats by microsurgical technique. To determine the extent of oxidative stress, heparinized blood from the recipient animals was collected before, or at 5, 30, and 60 min after reperfusion, and chemiluminescence was measured in a total of 51 replantations.
Cold ischemic groups at 0, 24, and 48 hr, with high rates of vascular patency, did not show a marked increase in superoxide anion concentration. However, there were significant differences in the production of superoxide between patent and non-patent cases in all groups, excluding a 120-hr ischemic group.
This study showed that the increase in superoxide anion concentration after reperfusion following ischemia, correlates closely with the no-reflow phenomenon.
