Effect of iloprost on adrenal medullary grafts in central nervous system transplantation and apoptosis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether iloprost, a stable analog of prostacyclin, is useful for the preservation of neural grafts in transplantation surgery.

METHODS: This study was conducted at the Microsurgery Laboratory of the Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey in 2003. The animals (rabbits) were divided into 3 groups. In group I, autografts taken from the adrenal medulla were stored in 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution for 45 minutes before transplantation. In group II, autografts taken from the adrenal medulla were stored in iloprost solution (50 ng/ml) for 45 minutes before transplantation. Graft transplantation was not performed in the third group.

RESULTS: In group I, the grafts partially preserved their viability. In group II, the large adrenal medullary cells had evident euchromatin nuclei fused with neurons, and there was an increase in vascularization.

CONCLUSION: Three weeks after transplantation surgery, it was determined that iloprost maintained the viability of the graft tissue and probably prevented apoptosis, and facilitated the integration of the graft tissue into the host brain.