Expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM- 1) during ischemia-reperfusion in human liver tissue allograft: image analysis by confocal laser scanning microscopy.

We studied and quantified the effect of ischemia-reperfusion on expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatocyte plasma membranes by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy imaging. We found that ischemia induced an increase in ICAM-1 expression on sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatocytes. After reperfusion, ICAM-1 expression was increased on sinusoidal endothelial cells, whereas it was unmodified on hepatocytes. On the other hand, ICAM-1 expression was not correlated to ischemia-reperfusion liver injury. Therefore, hepatocellular ischemia-reperfusion injury could be induced by other causes than immune-mediated damages.