Ann Thorac Surg 2000;70:269
© 2000 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Discussion
Discussion
DR LYNN H. HARRISON (New Orleans, LA): Is the rat model an appropriate model to be extrapolated to human metabolism?
DR PAUL MEYER: We feel that the rodent lung model is quite acceptable for studying pulmonary metabolism. Although this type of analysis had not been previously reported in this or other animal models, it was adapted from an in vivo model described most recently by Hopkinson and colleagues, who have extensive experience in pulmonary preservation experiments. Although the rat lung does appear to be quite sensitive to ischemia, we were able, however, to maintain adequate function of the pulmonary graft after the 6-hour storage period in this experiment. The rat has been one of the most studied species in evaluating metabolism in other organs, and significant differences in citric acid cycle metabolism between rats and humans have not been identified.
DR HARRISON: Does the relatively small size of the rat lung make it intrinsically easier to preserve than, say, a sheep lung or a human lung?
DR MEYER: Not necessarily. We administered a standard dose of pulmonoplegic solution based upon the animal’s body weight. Moreover, uniform cooling with topical application of cold solution can be achieved well in a large or small organ. Our main concern with the smaller size of the rat lung was that it may provide an inadequate volume of pneumocytes to be analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Using a 9.4 T magnet with 15,000 scans on lung tissue extracts, we were able to obtain excellent spectra from which to derive metabolic information. This has been a very exciting feature of the small rodent model. It may turn out to be a simple way for rapid testing of a variety of interventions that may modify postischemic metabolism and function.
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Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2000 70: 264-269.
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