Influence of infliximab pretreatment on ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat intestine.

The Pringle maneuver is used in hepatic surgery to prevent blood loss but is associated with ischemia- reperfusion injury. To investigate the effect of infliximab on inflammation and apoptosis in rat intestinal mucosa during ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. A total of 30 male Wistar albino rats were equally divided into three groups to be subjected to (i) sham operation (sham), (ii) IR injury via Pringle maneuver (pringle) or (iii) infliximab (IFX) group (IFX was given at a dose 3 mg/kg for 3 days before IR injury). Following reperfusion period of 60 min., intestinal tissue and blood samples were taken and processed by standard histological methods. The Pringle maneuver and following reperfusion caused significant histopathological changes, increased serum transaminases' activity and the levels of oxidative stress markers and decreased glutathione peroxidase activity. IFX pretreatment partially prevented these changes. Infliximab pretreatment may protect intestinal mucosa against ischemia-reperfusion injury. Further studies are needed to investigate mechanism and evaluate safety and optimal dosing of IFX in humans exposed to the possible tissue damage by ischemia-reperfusion.