Abstract
Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury associated with hepatic resections and liver transplantation remains a serious complication in clinical practice, despite several attempts to solve the problem. The redox balance, which is pivotal for normal function and integrity of tissues, is dysregulated during I/R, leading to an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Formation of ROS and oxidant stress are the disease mechanisms most commonly invoked in hepatic I/R injury. The present review examines published results regarding possible sources of ROS and their effects in the context of I/R injury. We also review the effect of oxidative stress on marginal livers, which are more vulnerable to I/R-induced oxidative stress. Strategies to improve the viability of marginal livers could reduce the risk of dysfunction after surgery and increase the number of organs suitable for transplantation. The review also considers the therapeutic strategies developed in recent years to reduce the oxidative stress induced by hepatic I/R, and we seek to explain why some of them have not been applied clinically. New antioxidant strategies that have yielded promising results for hepatic I/R injury are discussed.
Acknowledgements
We thank both Alan Nance and Michael Maudsley of the Language Advisory Service of the University of Barcelona for revising the English text.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
This research was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project grant SAF2012–31238), Madrid, Spain. M. MB. Jiménez-Castro is in receipt of a fellowship from Societat Catalana de Trasplantament, Barcelona, Spain.