Ex-vivo Lung Perfusion and Its Role in Experimental Studies

Abstract

To date, lung transplantation is an accepted and a preferred treatment modality for end-stage lung diseases (1-3). But ischemia reperfusion--related injury, allograft rejection, bronchiolitis obliterans, and chronic graft rejection are still important and detrimental problems in lung transplant medicine (2). The gap between the limited number of donor organs and the increase in the number of patients on the waiting list is increasing rapidly. The acceptance of lung donors is still 20%-30% so far. The scarcity of appropriate organs leads to improper utilization of marginal donors. One of the solutions to increase the number of donor organs is the meticulous evaluation of donor organs after cardiac death (2-4). This is why a method called ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) was developed. The usefulness of EVLP on lung transplantation is firstly because this model makes it possible to evaluate the lung perfusion and functions of the body in the pre transplant period in marginal organs. By this method, we can make the right decision to implant. Second area of utilization is by preserving the graft after harvesting over long time intervals. Third area provides a platform for the development of additional therapies especially decreasing ischemia reperfusion (IRI). In this review, we aimed to provide the usage of EVLP on the development of treatment strategies in experimental studies and share our experiences with colleagues in the related field (5). General Perspective of Organ Culture SystemsThe experimental sciences have routinely used in-vivo and in-vitro models for stimulation of physiology and diseases. As a result of integration of physics and chemistry into in-vitro and in-vivo biomedicine, study on cell cultures and analyzing them at the molecular level became possible. The aim of ex-vivo experimental studies of organs is to create a system to stimulate human pathophysiology. Sys- Review Ex-vivo Lung Perfusion and Its Role in Experimental StudiesTuğba Coşgun AbstractLung transplantation is an accepted treatment modality for end-stage lung diseases. However, the donor pool is not getting larger in comparison to the number of patients on the waiting list. Of the patients on the waiting list for lung transplant, more than a quarter dies while waiting. Utilization of marginal donors became an issue, and ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) was started to be performed to solve this problem. Besides that, success in lung transplantation has not reached a satisfactory level for various reasons including ischemia reperfusion injury. Treatment options against these reasons that cause low success of lung transplantations are being investigated by many centers. Nowadays, EVLP that was initially developed to re-evaluate marginal donors has become a method for studies in experimental models. In our article, we want to review EVLP models in experimental studies.