S-nitroso-human serum albumin improves organ preservation in orthotopic heart transplantation in the pig

Background: In clinical heart transplantation the ischemic period tolerated by the heart is still limited. Prolonged ischemia (I) is associated with increased risks of acute and chronic rejection. Depletion of nitric oxide (NO) is a major contributor to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We hypothesize that NO substitution with S-Nitroso Human Serum Albumin (S-NO-HSA), a new NO-donor, could bridge NO starvation during I/R and improve hemodynamic outcome in a model of orthotopic heart transplantation in the pig.