Table 3.
Ex vivo studies employing argon for organ preservation
| Article | Organ | Model | Animal | Comparison and duration of treatment | Histopathology | Functional assessment | Biochemistry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irani et al., 2011[46] | Kidney | I/R + Renal transplantation | Rat | Cold preservation solution saturated with Ar 100% | Organ structural architecture: ↑ | CrCl: ↑ | CD10: + |
| Urinary albumin: ↑ | Caspase-3: - | ||||||
| Necrosis: ↑ | |||||||
| Duration: 6 h | |||||||
| Faure et al., 2016[48] | Kidney | I/R + Renal transplantation | Pig | Preservation solution saturated with | Tubular necrosis: ↑ | Diuresis: ↑ | RAA/TBARS: + |
| Fibrosis: ↑ | CrCl: ↑ | HSP 27: + | |||||
| Ar 100% | Apoptosis: ↑ | EFNa: ↑ | IL1, IL6, TNFα: - | ||||
| Duration: 30 h | Inflammation: ↑ | Uu/Pu: ↑ | Caspase-3: - | ||||
| Organ structural architecture: ↑ | Tubulopathy duration: ↑ | CD10: + | |||||
| Martens et al., 2016[47] | Lung | 2-h warm ischemia | Pig | EVLP: | BAL: ≈ | PVR: ≈ | CT: ground glass opacities: ≈ |
| Ar 70% | W/D: ≈ | Ppeak: ≈ | |||||
| Duration: 6 h | Necrosis: ≈ | PaO2/FIO2: ≈ | Septal thickness: ≈ | ||||
| Inflammation: ≈ | Consolidation: ≈ | ||||||
| Martens et al., 2017[52] | Lung | 18-h cold ischemia | Pigs | Pre-conditioning + EVLP | BAL: ≈ | PVR: ≈ | Inflammatory cytokines: ≈ |
| W/D: ≈ | Ppeak: ≈ | ||||||
| Ar79-88% | Necrosis: ≈ Inflammation: ≈ | PaO2/FIO2: ≈ | CT density: ≈ | ||||
| Duration: 28 h | |||||||
| Congestion: ≈ | |||||||
| Smith et al., 2017[54] | Kidney I/R | Pig | EVNP: | Tubular | Renal blood flow: + | Urinary HIF-1α: ≈ | |
| Ar 70% | dilatation: ≈ | Urine Output ≈CrCl | Urinary IL-6: ≈ | ||||
| Duration: 1 h | Epithelial shedding: ≈ | ≈Fractional excretion of sodium: ≈ | Urinary IL-8: ≈ | ||||
| Epithelial | Urinary TNF- α: ≈ | ||||||
| flattening: ≈ | Cytoplasmic | ||||||
| Tubular debris: ≈ | HIF-1α: ≈ | ||||||
| Vacuolation: ≈ | Nuclear HIF-1 α: ≈ | ||||||
| Condensed tubular nuclei: ≈ | |||||||
↑: Treatment with Ar was significantly graft protective compared to control; ≈: Treatment with Ar was equivalent to control; +: Increased with Ar treatment compared to control; -: Decreased with Ar treatment compared to control. Ar: Argon, O2: Oxygen, N2: Nitrogen, Xe: Xenon, NA: Not available, I/R: Ischemia-reperfusion injury, CrCl: Creatinine clearance, CD: Cluster of differentiation, EFNa: fraction of excreted sodium, Uu/Pu: Urinary urea/plasma urea ratio, RAA/TBARS: Ascorbic acid/thiobarbituric acid reactivity, HSP 27: Heat shock protein 27, IL: Interleukin, TNF: Tumor necrosis factor, EVLP: Ex vivo lung perfusion, BAL: Bronchoalveolar lavage, W/D: Wet/dry ratio, PVR: Pulmonary vascular resistance, Ppeak: Peak airways pressure, PaO2/FIO2: Partial arterial oxygen pressure/fraction of inspired oxygen, CT: Computerized tomography imaging, EVNP: Ex vivo normothermic perfusion, HIF-1α: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha