Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of levosimendan and thymoquinone (TQ) on lung injury after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Materials and methods: Twenty-four Wistar albino rats were included in the study. The animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental groups. In Group C (control group), left anterior descending artery was not occluded or reperfused. Myocardial I/R was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending artery for 30 min, followed by 2 h of reperfusion in the I/R, I/R-levosimendan (24 μg/kg) (IRL) group, and I/R-thymoquinone (0.2 mL/kg) (IRTQ) group. Tissue samples taken from the lungs of rats were histochemically stained with H&E and immunohistochemically stained with p53, Bcl 2, Bax, and caspase 3 primer antibodies. Results: Increased expression of p53 and Bax was observed (4+), especially in the I/R group. In IRTQ and IRL groups, expression was also observed at various locations (2+, 3+). H&E staining revealed that that the lungs were severely damaged and the walls of the alveoli were too thick, the number of areas examined was increased during the evaluation. Caspase 3 expression was observed to be at an (1+, 2+) intensity that was usually weak and diffuse in multiple areas. Bcl 2 was not found to be expressed in any of the tissues. H&E staining revealed that that the lungs were severely damaged in the I/R group, with the walls of the channels and alveoli thickened and edematous, and also an intense inflammatory cell migration was observed. Immunohistochemical staining was more prominent in inflammatory areas and structures around the terminal bronchioles. Conclusion: The findings in our study have shown that administration of levosimendan and TQ during I/R increases expression of caspase 3, p53, and Bax in lung tissue and has a protective effect on lung as distant organ. We suggest that findings of this study be elucidated with further large-scale clinical studies.

Background and Objectives: Ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury can affect multiple distant organs following I/R in the lower extremities. BPC-157’s anti-inflammatory and free radical-neutralizing properties suggest its potential in mitigating ischemia–reperfusion damage. This study evaluates the protective effects of BPC-157 on remote organ damage, including the kidneys, liver, and lungs, in a rat model of skeletal muscle I/R injury. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham (S), BPC-157(B), lower extremity I/R(IR) and lower extremity I/R+BPC-157(I/RB). Some 45 min of ischemia of lower extremity was followed by 2 h of reperfusion of limbs. BPC-157 was applied to groups B and I/RB at the beginning of the procedure. After 2 h of reperfusion, liver, kidney and lung tissues were harvested for biochemical and histopathological analyses. Results: In the histopathological examination, vascular and glomerular vacuolization, tubular dilation, hyaline casts, and tubular cell shedding in renal tissue were significantly lower in the I/RB group compared to other groups. Lung tissue showed reduced interstitial edema, alveolar congestion, and total damage scores in the I/RB group. Similarly, in liver tissue, sinusoidal dilation, necrotic cells, and mononuclear cell infiltration were significantly lower in the I/RB group. Additionally, the evaluation of TAS, TOS, OSI, and PON-1 revealed a statistically significant increase in antioxidant activity in the liver, lung, and kidney tissues of the I/RB group. Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrate that BPC-157 exerts a significant protective effect against distant organ damage in the liver, kidneys, and lungs following lower extremity ischemia–reperfusion injury in rats.

Introduction: Many structural and functional damages are observed in cells and tissues after reperfusion of previously viable ischemic tissues. Acute ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury of lower extremities occurs especially when a temporary cross-clamp is applied to the abdominal aorta during aortic surgery. Research regarding the treatment of I/R injury has been increasing day-by-day. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of picroside II on skeletal muscle of rats experiencing simulated I/R. Materials and methods: Twenty-four male Wistar albino rats weighing between 210 and 300 g were used in this study. Rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of 6 rats each (control, I/R, control + picroside II, and I/R + picroside II). The infrarenal section of the abdominal aorta was occluded with an atraumatic microvascular clamp in I/R group. The clamp was removed after 120 minutes and reperfusion was provided for a further 120 minutes. Picroside II (10 mg kg^–1) was administered intraperitoneally to the animals in control + picroside II and I/R + picroside II groups. At the end of the study, skeletal muscle tissue was obtained for the determination of total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels. Apoptosis was evaluated by TUNEL experiment. Results: TOS levels were significantly higher in I/R group than that of control and I/R + picroside II groups (P=0.014, P=0.005, respectively). TAS levels were significantly higher in I/R group than that of control and I/R + picroside II groups (P=0.007 P=0.005, respectively). TUNEL assay revealed that picroside II reduced cell necrosis. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that picroside II plays a critical role to prevent I/R injury. Even though our results were found to be satisfactory, it should be encouraging to those who want to conduct future research on this topic.

Objective: This study aimed to demonstrate whether ozone has cardioprotective effects on the myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in rats with streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetes. Methods: A total of 38 male Wistar Albino rats were divided into five groups as follows: control group (group C,n=6), diabetic group (group D,n=6), diabetic ozone group (group DO,n=6), diabetic-ischemia/reperfusion (group DIR,n=6), diabetic-ischemia/reperfusion-ozone (group DIRO,n=6). Six rats died during this period and two died because of surgical complications. A myocardial ischemia-reperfusion model was created using a thoracotomy incision from 4th intercostal space. The LAD was ligated using an 8– 0 prolene suture for 30min. Ozone was administered intraperitoneally(1mg/kg) 5min before reperfusion. The reperfusion time was 120 min. At the end of the reperfusion procedure, myocardial tissue histopathological examinations, and serum biochemical analyses were performed. Results: The percentage of TUNEL(+) cardiomyocytes/HPF was significantly higher in the DIR group than in the C, D, and DO groups. Conversely, TUNEL positivity was significantly lower in the DIRO group than in the DIR group. The IRI score was significantly higher in the DIR and DIRO groups than that in the C, D, and DO groups. In contrast, the IRI damage score in the DIRO group was significantly lower than that in the DIR group. Serum MDA levels were significantly higher in the DIR group than in the C, D, and DO groups. Similarly, MDA levels were significantly higher in the DIRO group than in the C and D groups. CAT activity was significantly higher in the DIR group than in the C and D groups. SOD activity was significantly higher in the DIR group than in the C and DO groups. Conclusion: Our study showed that ozone exerts cardioprotective effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats through its antioxidant role against oxidative stress. Both biochemical and histological analyses clearly revealed that ozone has beneficial effects against IRI in the diabetic rat myocardium.

Background/aim: Recovery after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) can be complicated, leading to postoperative morbidity. The roles of hematologic and surgery-related parameters are important. The main purpose of this study is to determine the role of preoperative and postcardiopulmonary bypass neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on postoperative recovery. Materials and methods: Sixty-two patients aged between 41 and 80 years, scheduled for elective CABG surgery with ASA I-II risk and without a history of preoperative blood transfusion, were included in the study. Three patients were excluded due to their need for additional surgical procedures other than CABG. The patients were divided into two groups that were formed depending on preoperative NLR cut-off values below (Group 1, n = 37) and above 4 (Group 2, n = 22). Postoperative data such as length of stay in the hospital and in the intensive care unit (ICU), chest tube drainage, and incidence of atrial fibrillation were recorded for all patients. Results: Preoperative NLR was significantly lower in Group 1 (P < 0.0001), and there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of postoperative NLR (P = 0.217) when the two groups were compared. The patients in Group 2 had a longer length of stay in the ICU (P = 0.035) and in the hospital (P = 0.034). There was a positive correlation between preoperative NLR and length of stay in the ICU (P = 0.017) and the hospital (P = 0.014). No statistically significant differences in postoperative drainage or incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation were detected between the two groups. Conclusion: The results of our study demonstrate that the postoperative NLR may be useful to predict the length of hospital and ICU stays and help the management of follow-up and treatment processes in patients undergoing CABG surgery.

Background/aim: The protective effect of erdosteine on local and distant organ injury due to ischemia/reperfusion has been well documented but its effect on erythrocyte deformability needs further investigation. Our aim was to investigate the effect of erdosteine on erythrocyte deformability in the infrarenal aorta of rats undergoing ischemia/reperfusion. Materials and methods: Our study was conducted with 18 Wistar albino rats. Rats were divided into 3 groups: a randomized control group (group 'control', n = 6), an ischemia/reperfusion group without erdosteine (group 'ischemia/reperfusion', n = 6), and an ischemia/reperfusion group with erdosteine at 150 mg kg(-1), intraperitoneally (group 'ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine', n = 6). Packs of erythrocytes were prepared from heparinized blood samples and deformability measurements were conducted. Results: Comparisons of the control and ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine groups revealed similar results (P = 0.051). The values of the ischemia/reperfusion group were significantly higher than those of the control and ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine groups (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.024, respectively). Relative resistance, a marker of erythrocyte deformability, was increased significantly by ischemia/reperfusion compared to the control and ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: We detected unfavorable effects of ischemia/reperfusion on erythrocyte deformability, which may lead to disturbance in blood flow and hence tissue perfusion in the infrarenal rat aorta. We also found that erdosteine had beneficial effects by reversing undesirable effects of ischemia/reperfusion. However, these promising results should be further supported by more detailed studies with larger volumes.