Abstract
Coronary artery bypass surgery can result in endothelial dysfunction due to ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury. Previous studies have demonstrated that DuraGraft helps maintain endothelial integrity of saphenous vein grafts during ischemic conditions. In this study, we investigated the potential of DuraGraft to mitigate endothelial dysfunction in arterial grafts after IR injury using an aortic transplantation model. Lewis rats (n = 7-9/group) were divided in three groups. Aortic arches from the control group were prepared and rings were immediately placed in organ baths, while the aortic arches of IR and IR + DuraGraft rats were preserved in saline or DuraGraft, respectively, for 1 h before being transplanted heterotopically. After 1 h after reperfusion, the grafts were explanted, rings were prepared, and mounted in organ baths. Our results demonstrated that the maximum endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation to acetylcholine was significantly impaired in the IR group compared to the control group, but DuraGraft improved it (control: 89 ± 2%; IR: 24 ± 1%; IR + DuraGraft: 48 ± 1%, p < 0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed decreased intercellular adhesion molecule-1, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, caspase-3 and caspase-8 expression, while endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 immunoreactivity was increased in the IR + DuraGraft grafts compared to the IR-group. DuraGraft mitigates endothelial dysfunction following IR injury in a rat bypass model. Its protective effect may be attributed, at least in part, to its ability to reduce the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and apoptosis.