Aspirin Reduces Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Induced Endothelial Cell Damage of Arterial Grafts in a Rodent Model

Long-term graft patency determines the prognosis of revascularization after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury of the graft suffered during harvesting and after implantation might influence graft patency. Aspirin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug improves the long-term patency of vein grafts. Whether aspirin has the same effect on arterial grafts is questionable. We aimed to characterize the beneficial effects of aspirin on arterial bypass grafts in a rodent revascularization model. We gave Lewis rats oral pretreatment of either aspirin (n = 8) or saline (n = 8) for 5 days, then aortic arches were explanted and stored in cold preservation solution. The third group (n = 8) was a non-ischemia-reperfusion control. Afterwards the aortic arches were implanted into the abdominal aorta of recipient rats followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation was examined with organ bath experiments. Immunohistochemical staining were carried out. Endothelium-dependent maximal vasorelaxation improved, nitro-oxidative stress and cell apoptosis decreased, and significant endothelial protection was shown in the aspirin preconditioned group, compared to the transplanted control group. Significantly improved endothelial function and reduced I/R injury induced structural damage were observed in free arterial grafts after oral administration of aspirin. Aspirin preconditioning before elective CABG might be beneficial on free arterial graft patency.