Gasotransmitters in Organ Transplantation

This book covers recent pre-clinical and clinical developments in gasotransmitters (nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide) in all transplantable solid organs – kidney, heart, lung, liver, pancreas and intestine. Gasotransmitters are a class of small endogenously produced gaseous signaling molecules that play important roles in cellular homeostasis and impact physiological and pathophysiological processes. Recently, these homeostatic gases have emerged as potent cytoprotective mediators, possessing therapeutic properties that enable them exhibit their intracellular signaling functions. Hence, alterations in their physiological levels have been associated with various pathologies including warm and cold ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in organ transplantation. In the context of organ transplantation, a novel therapeutic strategy that is being investigated involves administration of these gasotransmitters to the organ donor or recipient before or after transplantation, or supplementation of standard preservation solution with gasotransmitters during organ graft preservation to mitigate transplant-induced IRI. This book is divided into three parts for easy access: Hydrogen Sulfide in Organ Transplantation, Carbon Monoxide in Organ Transplantation, and Nitric Oxide in Organ Transplantation. By presenting recent advances in organ graft protection mediated by gasotransmitters against warm and cold IRI and its associated post-transplant complications in pre-clinical models of organ transplantation and some selected clinical cases, this book aims to be a surgical guide specifically for organ transplant surgeons who seek to improve routine transplant procedure involving donor organ procurement, preservation, engraftment and patient (graft) evaluation during early post-transplant period. In addition, the book also seeks to lay the foundation for future clinical applications of gasotransmitters, while serving as an excellent resource for both educational didactic purposes in transplant surgery and research.