Effects of Cold Preservation on the Lung Mechanical Properties in Rats

In lung transplantation, cold preservation is an important process. However, the mechanical changes in the airway and tissue during cold preservation, especially before reperfusion, are unknown. To test the hypothesis that the mechanical changes in the airway and lung parenchyma start during cold preservation, we investigated the mechanical properties of the rat lung as a whole organ and in excised lung strips. In the 0 h group, the lungs were not preserved. In the 9 and 24 h group, the lungs were preserved for 9 and 24 h at 4°C. After preservation, we evaluated the static compliance (C sta ) of the whole lung as obtained from the pressure volume curves (n = 5 in each group). Also, we measured the input impedance taken by a computer-controlled small-animal ventilator (n = 9 in each group). All data were analyzed using a homogeneous linear model, which includes airway resistance (R aw ), tissue elastance (H), and tissue resistance (G). Hysteresivity (η) was calculated as G/H. Moreover, the tissue elasticity (E qs ) obtained from the quasi-static stress-strain curves was compared. There was no significant difference in C sta among the three groups. R aw was significantly lower in the 24 h group than in the 0 h group (p < 0.01). E qs was significantly higher in the preserved groups than in the 0 h group (p < 0.01). These results demonstrated that the changes in the three mechanical properties of the airway and the tissue started within 9 h of preservation.