Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in cadaveric liver transplantation is not avoidable. Liver I/R injury is an important phenomenon in hepatic damage. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) plays an important role in I/R injury. The present study aimed to determine the expression pattern of miR-21 in liver I/R injury/recovery and its correlation with the immunologic transmission signals pathways several days post-reperfusion. In an animal model for I/R in the liver, 40 male Balb/c mice were divided into 3 groups. The animals were monitored for 3 and 24 hours, and also for 4, 7, 14, and 28 days post-reperfusion. Liver tissue damage was assessed by histopathology. The plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels were measured with enzymatic assays. MiR-21, programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) mRNA, T-cell-restricted intracellular antigen 1 (TIA1) mRNA, and fas ligand (FASL) mRNA expression levels were measured; using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at different times after the reperfusion in liver tissue and blood. Histopathology and plasma ALT, AST, ALP, and TAC levels confirmed liver damage induced by I/R injury. MiR-21 increased by twofold in the liver tissue and on the inflammatory phase after 24 hours of reperfusion; it then continued to decrease up to day 7 post-reperfusion. Afterward, it continued to rise slightly up to day 14 post-reperfusion. This trend was in parallel with the recovery of the liver damage. MiR-21 expression level in the liver and blood is a predictor of the extent of I/R injury.
Keywords: Ischemia; Liver; Mice; MicroRNA-21; Reperfusion.