Progress in preservation of intestinal grafts by oxygenated hypothermic machine perfusion

Abstract

Intestine transplantation (IT) is a critical treatment strategy for irreversible intestinal failure. Among all abdominal solid organ transplants, the intestine was the most vulnerable to ischemia and reperfusion injury (IRI). The static cold storage (SCS) technique is currently the most commonly used graft preservation method, but its hypoxia condition causes metabolic disorders, resulting in the occurrence of IRI, limiting its application in marginal organs. It is especially important to improve preservation techniques in order to minimize damage to marginal donor organs, which draws more attention to machine perfusion (MP). There has been much debate about whether it is necessary to increase oxygen in these conditions to support low levels of metabolism since the use of machine perfusion to preserve organs. There is evidence that oxygenation helps to restore intracellular ATP levels in the intestine after thermal or cold ischemia damage. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the role of oxygen in maintaining environmental stability in the gut under hypoxic conditions, as well as to investigate the possibilities and mechanisms of oxygen delivery during preservation in intestine transplantation studies and clinical models.