23 However, a recent study from our group demonstrated that absence of blood flow-derived shear stress stimuli per se, which occurs during organ procurement for transplantation, negatively affects the endothelial vasoprotective phenotype inducing acute endothelial dysfunction.11 This pioneering study created the rationale to investigate strategies for organ preservation based on machine perfusion of kidney or liver grafts.24, 25 Furthermore, it allows study of the

molecular mechanisms leading to increased endothelial sensitivity to injury in the absence of shear stress, with the aim of discovery druggable targets to prevent endothelial and tissue damage during organ procurement. For this purpose, we analyzed the effects of shear stress interruption and cold storage on the hepatic endothelial phenotype and function, and developed a pharmacological selleck screening library strategy to maintain endothelial health in the setting of organ transplantation. We first characterized the hepatic endothelial vasoprotective phenotype during cold storage, both at the tissue and cellular levels, by analyzing the KLF2-derived protective pathways. Our study demonstrates that during cold storage conditions GS-1101 concentration the hepatic endothelial vasoprotective phenotype is rapidly lost. Indeed, the hepatic expression of KLF2 and its target genes eNOS, TM, and HO-1 is significantly reduced

after just 1 hour or 6 hours of cold storage. Reduced expression of KLF2 and its transcriptional target progressively increased throughout cold storage. Although it is well established that within the liver, as well as in the vasculature, the expression

of KLF2 is mainly endothelial,11, 26, 27 we further characterized the effects of shear stress termination and cold storage conditions on the vasoprotective phenotype in freshly isolated HECs. These in vitro experiments confirmed that once flow stimulus is terminated, and cells are preserved under cold-storage see more conditions, hepatic endothelial KLF2-derived vasoprotective pathways are significantly down-regulated. To understand the pathophysiological consequences of an abnormal endothelial phenotype occurring during cold storage, we characterized the hepatic microcirculation status and the hepatic endothelial function during warm reperfusion. These experiments showed that upon reperfusion cold-stored liver grafts exhibit much higher hepatic vascular resistance, as compared to liver grafts not cold stored. Moreover, these liver grafts exhibit acute endothelial dysfunction. These microcirculatory abnormalities were accompanied by significant hepatic injury, as demonstrated by marked increments in: hepatic enzymes release, inflammation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, histological injury, and significant reduction in bile production.