The Relationship of Initial Liver Profile and Outcome After Transplantation

Donation after cardiac death (DCD) livers are increasingly utilised in liver transplantation but concerns exist regarding negative results. Ischemic cholangiopathy (IC) is damage to one or more bile ducts probably caused by inadequate blood flow or a failure of biliary epithelium to regenerate. It typically presents weeks to months after liver transplantation, is often refractory to treatment and can result in a requirement for re-transplantation. Although IC is more common following DCD liver transplantation, it is otherwise very difficult to predict and the underlying pathogenesis is poorly understood. The aim of this study is to correlate microRNA (miRNA) levels and markers of senescence in liver and bile duct biopsies taken during liver transplantation with the incidence of IC following liver transplantation.