Figure 1.

Study design. Six hours after the induction of brain death, German landrace donor pigs (33.2 ± 3.9 kg) were randomly preconditioned with either Cyclosporine (n = 9) or Everolimus (n = 9) administered via nasogastric tube with a repeated dose just before organ procurement. Control donors received intravenous (i.v.) Methylprednisolone (n = 8). Kidneys were procured, cold-stored in HTK solution at 4°C and transplanted in nephrectomized recipients after a mean cold ischemia time of 19.32 ± 2.92 (SD) hours. No post-transplant immunosuppression was given to avoid confounding bias. Blood samples were obtained at 4 h post reperfusion and daily until postoperative day (POD) 5 for complete blood count, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), and electrolytes. Graft protocol biopsies were performed 4 h after reperfusion to assess early histological and immunohistochemical changes.