Effect of bone marrow mononuclear cell homograft transplantation on ischemic type biliary lesion in rabbit livers

Ischemic type biliary lesion (ITBL) is frequently occurred after orthotopic liver transplantation and severely affects patients’ survival rate. The pathogenesis of ITBL is still unclear yet, but has been suggested to be related with multiple factors including ischemia time of donor liver, reperfusion damage and immune factors. Complete ischemia model of intrahepatic biliary tract was established in rabbit by combined blockage of common biliary tract and common hepatic artery. In transplantation group, mononuclear cells separated from bone marrow as infused via hepatic artery. Liver functions in two groups were compared. Both mRNA and protein expressions were determined by real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. After autograft transplantation of bone marrow derived mononuclear cells, liver function indexes including AST, ALT, ALP, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin were all decreased compared to control group (P<0.05). Both mRNA and protein expression levels of Bcl-2 and VEGF were increased while expression of Fas was decreased (P<0.05). Autograft transplantation of bone marrow derived mononuclear cells could prevent the occurrence of ITBL, via facilitating angiogenesis, improving apoptosis/antiapoptosis balance and improving hepatic and biliary functions.