Safety and Efficacy of Ex Vivo Donor Lung Adenoviral IL-10 Gene Therapy in a Large Animal Lung Transplant Survival Model.

Ex vivo normothermic lung perfusion (EVLP) is a novel platform and method developed to facilitate functional assessment and implementation of advanced therapies for donor lungs prior to transplantation. This study aimed to determine the safety and immunological and functional benefits of ex vivo adenoviral human interleukin-10 (AdhIL-10) gene delivery to prevent the development of primary graft dysfunction in a large animal survival model. Pig donor lungs were retrieved, preserved for 6 h at 4°C, and then randomly assigned to four groups: (1) AdhIL-10 gene therapy: 12 h EVLP + AdhIL-10 intra-bronchial delivery; (2) EVLP-control: 12 h EVLP; (3) Vector-control: 12 h EVLP + adenoviral vector intra-bronchial delivery; and (4) prolonged hypothermic preservation: additional 12 h of cold ischemia.

Eight-Hour Continuous Normothermic Ex Vivo Kidney Perfusion Is a Safe Preservation Technique for Kidney Transplantation: A New Opportunity for the Storage, Assessment, and Repair of Kidney Grafts.

Background: Hypothermic kidney storage causes preservation injury and is poorly tolerated by renal grafts. We investigated whether static cold storage (SCS) can be safely replaced with a novel technique of pressure-controlled normothermic ex vivo kidney perfusion (NEVKP) in heart-beating donor kidney transplantation.

Methods: Right kidneys were removed from 30 kg Yorkshire pigs in a model of heart-beating donation and either preserved in cold histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution for 8 hours (n = 5), or subjected to 8 hours of pressure-controlled NEVKP (n = 5) followed by renal heterotopic autotransplantation.

Continuous Normothermic Ex Vivo Kidney Perfusion Improves Graft Function in Donation After Circulatory Death Pig Kidney Transplantation.

Background: Donation after circulatory death (DCD) is current clinical practice to increase the donor pool. Deleterious effects on renal graft function are described for hypothermic preservation. Therefore, current research focuses on investigating alternative preservation techniques, such as normothermic perfusion.

The role of the endothelin-1 pathway as a biomarker for donor lung assessment in clinical ex vivo lung perfusion.

Background: Normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a preservation technique that allows reassessment of donor lungs before transplantation. We hypothesized that the endothelin-1 (ET-1) axis would be associated with donor lung performance during EVLP and recipient outcomes after transplantation.

Methods: ET-1, Big ET-1, endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE), and nitric oxide (NO) metabolites were quantified in the perfusates of donor lungs enrolled in a clinical EVLP trial.

Ex vivo adenoviral vector gene delivery results in decreased vector-associated inflammation pre- and post-lung transplantation in the pig.

Acellular normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a novel method of donor lung preservation for transplantation. As cellular metabolism is preserved during perfusion, it represents a potential platform for effective gene transduction in donor lungs. We hypothesized that vector-associated inflammation would be reduced during ex vivo delivery due to isolation from the host immune system response.