Uterus
transplantation (UTx) is the first and only available treatment for women with absolute uterine factor
infertility. However, clinical application is limited by the lack of organs,
ischemia/reperfusion injury, as well as immunosuppression after UTx. Several different preservation solutions are used in experimental and clinical UTx, including Custodiol®
solution. Recently, the novel
Custodiol-N solution was developed with superior results in organ preservation. However, the
solution was not tested yet in UTx. Therefore, the aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of
Custodiol-N in uterus prolonged cold preservation time (8 and 24 h), compared to Custodiol®
solution. Uterus tissue samples were obtained from adult Sprague Dawley rats (n = 10/group). Cold ischemic injury was estimated by histology, including immunohistochemistry, and biochemical tissue analyses. After 8 h of cold ischemia, higher percentage of tissue
edema,
necrosis signs and
myeloperoxidase expression, as well as lower
superoxide dismutase activity were found in Custodiol® compared to
Custodiol-N (p < 0.05). These differences were more pronounced after 24 h of cold preservation time (p < 0.05). This study demonstrated that
Custodiol-N protects uterus grafts from cold ischemic injury better than standard Custodiol® most likely via inhibition of oxidative stress and tissue
edema. It seems that
iron chelators in the composition of
Custodiol-N play an important protective role against cold ischemia.