Gucuetal.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery2013,8:16 http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/8/1/16 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Effects of temporary vascular occluder poloxamer 407 Gel on the endothelium Arif Gucu1*, Ilkin Cavusoglu2, Cuneyt Eris1, Faruk Toktas1, Tugrul Goncu1 and Ahmet Ozyazicioglu1 Abstract Background: Coronary occlusion techniques during OPCABmay lead to anendothelial damage to thetarget vessel. The adverse effects of thesetechniques are well-known, and researches have been trying to find out new materials to occlude thecoronaryartery without an endothelial damage. Inthe present study, we investigate to the endothelial damage intherat aorta which is occluded by Poloxamer 407 gel. Methods: Forty-five rats were randomized inthreegroups: (1) segment ofthe aorta was occluded withPoloxamer 407gel in P407 group; (2)segment oftheaorta was occluded with microvascular clamp in MV clamp group; and (3)no onclusion was available intheControl group. The rats were sacrificed of observation,and a 15mm segment ofthe aorta was obtained as a specimen. Integrity ofthe endothelial lining was observed witha scanning electron microscopy. Results: Scanning electron microscopyrevealed a statistically significant difference among the 3groups (p<0,001) using the SPSS 13.0 test. No difference was found between the Control group and theP 407group (p=0,059). The differences between MV clamp–Control group (p<0,001) and MV clamp–P407 group were statistically significant (p<0,002). Conclusions: We suggest that Poloxamer 407 gel occlusion may be a safer and more effective method compared to themicrovascular clamp occlusion. Keywords: Endothelial damage, Poloxamer 407, Scanningelectron microscopy, OPCAB Background have atherosclerotic coronary arteries; therefore, bear Coronary artery occlusion techniques during OPCAB endothelial damage to some extent [8]. Using the afore- often result in suboptimal visualization due to bleeding mentioned methods for optimal visualization during fromarteriotomysite.Thisleadstoanincreaseinsurgical OPCABmayevenincreasethisendothelialdamage.Thus, trauma and risk the quality of the anastomosis. Recently, it is crucial to use the safest occlusion technique during techniques and devices have been employed to improve OPCAB. the visibility during OPCAB surgery, including elastic Poloxamersareabroadgroupofsurfactantswidelyused snaresutures,microvascularclamps, intracoronaryshunts in various industrial applications. These water-soluble, and high flow gas insufflation materials. However, these nontoxic and inert surfactants are tribloc copolymer of techniquesanddevicesallhaveapotentialformechanical polyethylene oxide –polypropylene oxide –polyethylene a b damagetothecoronaryendothelium[1-7]. oxide .Differenthydrophilic/hydrophobicratiosandphys- a Despite improvements in hemostatic devices used in ical characteristics can be obtained by varying the block OPCAB surgery, the perfect device which allows a size and total molecular weight of the poloxamers [9]. In complete control of bleedingwithoutgeneratingcoronary particular, Poloxamer 407 - a polymer witha ratio of70% endothelial injury is yet to be introduced for use. On the polyoxyethylene and 30% polyoxypropylene - shows in- other hand, patients undergoing coronary surgery already verse thermo sensitivity [10]. Therefore, aqueous polymer solutions - with greater than 12% critical concentration - *Correspondence:[email protected] are liquid at low temperatures.However, it isnotable that 1DepartmentofCardiovascularSurgery,BursaYuksekIhtisasTrainingand they turn into gel form at higher temperatures. The ResearchHospital,Bursa,Turkey Fulllistofauthorinformationisavailableattheendofthearticle ©2013Gucuetal.;licenseeBioMedCentralLtd.ThisisanOpenAccessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreative CommonsAttributionLicense(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,and reproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited. Gucuetal.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery2013,8:16 Page2of7 http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/8/1/16 Table1Theclassificationofhistomorphologicalchangesoftheendotheliallayer Damagetype Histomorphologicalfeatures Nodamage Theendothelialcellsarecontactwitheachother,neitherchangeinthecellularmorphologynoranydecreaseinsize. Type1 Cellularintegrityofendothelialcellsisunchanged.Endothelialcellsareincontactwitheachother,buttheflatteningofthe damage endothelialcells,changesindiameterandtheoccurrenceofthenuclei.Inaddition,theadhesionofbloodcellsontheendothelium. Type2 Detachmentofthecellsattheirjunctionpointsand/orisolatedabsenceofendothelialcells. damage Type3 Appearanceofthesubendothelialtissuewithdesquamationofendothelialcells. damage polymer is highly soluble; therefore, gel plug erodes in olive-shaped ending taken as atraumatic for the endo- blood, and the dissolution time depends on how much thelium. After the introduction of the catheter 15–20 polymer is injected, the concentration of the polymer in mm into the proximal segment of rat abdominal aorta, W the solution, and the surrounding temperature [11]. This 0.15 cc of Poloxamer 407 gel (LeGoo , 22,5%, Pluromed nontoxicpolymerisnotabsorbedormetabolizedanddoes Inc, Lincoln, MA, USA) was injected rapidly in order to notleadtoanembolism.Itisexcretedurinarywithahalf- avoid uneven coating of the gel, which could comprom- lifeofapproximately25hours[12].TheuseofPoloxamer ise the effectiveness of the occlusion. Lack of blood flow 407invascularocclusionduringOPCABsurgeryhasbeen from the proximal direction in a few seconds meant that previously reported [11,13-15]. In this study, we aimed to Poloxamer 407 gel became solid, and the plug occluded investigate the endothelial damage caused by Poloxamer the vessel successfully. Ten minutes following complete 407 gel occlusion in the rat aorta using scanning electron occlusion, we irrigated the vessel gently with a cold sa- microscopy. line solution to dissolve the plug in a few seconds. Sub- sequently, the vessel was carefully dissected free from the adherent tissue in a no-touch technique and was cut Methods in transverse fashion 5 mm away from the occlusion Animalsandsurgicaltechnique area on each side. Hence, approximately 15-mm seg- Forty-five Wistar Albino female rats (3–4 months old, ment of the aorta was excised and taken as a specimen weighing300–400grams)wereusedinthisexperimental from theP407group. study. Following Uludag University Animal Experiments 2) MV clamp group: Following arteriotomy of the ab- Local Ethic Committee approval (15.02.2011, ethics dominal aorta, the proximal segment of arteriotomy was committee decision no: 2011-02-01), the study was con- clamped with a microvascular clamp (Micro DeBakey ducted in accordance with the ‘Guide for the Care and bulldog clamp, Malden, MA, USA). After waiting for ap- Use ofLaboratoryAnimals2010’. proximately 10 minutes, the vessel was harvested in the All of the rats were anesthetized with ketamine same fashion as in P 407 group and was taken as a spe- W hydrochloride, 20 mg/kg IM (Ketalar 500 mg, Pfizer, cimenfrom theMVclampgroup. New York, USA) and xylazine hydrochloride, 15 mg/kg 3) Control group: Following exploration, the vessel W IM (Rompun Inj. Solution 2%, Bayer, Leverkusen, was harvested in the same fashion as in both groups, Germany). In light of median laparotomy and exploration andwastaken asa specimenfrom theControl group. anddissectionoftheabdominalaortathefollowingproce- dureswereperformed: 1) P 407 group: after arteriotomy of the abdominal TissueprocurementandpreparationforSEM aorta, we placed a cardiac control syringe (Pluromed The specimens of aorta were dissected longitudinally, Inc, Lincoln, MA, USA) into the proximal part of the pinned on cork plates, and fixed with 5% glutaraldehyde aorta. The distal part of the catheter (made of polypro- (in0.13Mphosphatebuffer,pH7,2)at+4°Cfor4hours. pylene and styrene butadiene rubber) is smooth with an Secondary fixation was performed with 1% OsO 4 Table2Numberofsampleswithdifferenttypesofendothelialdamageincontrol,Poloxamer407geland microvascularclampgroups Control(n:15)group MVClamp(n:15)group Poloxamer407Gel(n:15)group Nodamage 15 - 10 TypeIdamage - 10 4 TypeIIdamage - 4 1 TypeIIIdamage - 1 - Gucuetal.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery2013,8:16 Page3of7 http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/8/1/16 Figure1ScanningelectronmicrographoftheP407group.Theendothelialcellswereintact.Bloodcellsandfibrinwereobservedadhered totheendothelialsurface.Thenucleioftheendothelialcellswereprominent. Figure2ScanningelectronmicrographoftheP407group.In4samples,endothelialcellswereincontactwhicheachother,butthe flatteningendothelialcellsanddecreasedindiameterwasdetected.Otherbloodcellsobservedinadhesiontoendothelium,damagewas evaluatedastype1. Gucuetal.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery2013,8:16 Page4of7 http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/8/1/16 Figure3ScanningelectronmicrographoftheP407group.Inonesample,minimaldetachmentbetweentheendothelialcellswas observed.Damagewasevaluatedastype2. (in 0,13 M phosphate buffer, pH 7,2) at +4°C for 1 hour. Results Thespecimensweredehydrated ingraded alcohol series, The specimens were examined with a scanning electron treated with 1/3, 1/1 and 3/1 alcohol/amylacetate mix- microscope and scored in accordance with the afore- tures and transferred to pure amylacetate. The tissue mentioned classification criteria. Number of samples samples were kept in pure amylacetate for 2 days and with different types of endothelial damage among con- then dried in critical point dryer (Baltec CPD Critical trol, Poloxamer 407 gel and microvascular clamp groups Point Dryer) and, coated with gold-palladium (Baltec were described inTable2. SCD 005 Spotter Coater). The endothelial surfaces of Freedman test revealed a statistically significant differ- the samples were investigated through a scanning ence among the 3 groups (p<0,001). However, there was electron microscope (Carl Zeiss EVO 40, Carl Zeiss not any difference between the Control group and P 407 SMT AG, Germany). The specimens were examined by group (p=0,059) using the Wilcoxon test. The differences a histologist who was experienced in scanning electron between MV clamp–Control group (p<0,001) and MV microscopyand,wasblinded toalloftheotherdata. clamp–P407groupwerestatisticallysignificant(p<0,002). Histologicalinvestigation Discussion Histomorphologic changes of the endothelial layer were One of the basic principles of the OPCAB is to establish classifiedintofourgrades,andweredescribedinTable1. a perfect anastomosis. On the other hand, one of the most important problems in OPCAB is the suboptimal visualization of the anastomosis site because of the Statisticalanalysis bleeding through arteriotomy site despite the occlusion Data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0 (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, of the proximal coronary artery. The bleeding in the USA). Three dependent groups were compared by anastomosis sitedecreasesthequalityoftheanastomosis Freedman Test, and the dual groups were compared by and increases the probability of the surgical trauma [1]. theWilcoxonTest.Resultswhichwerep<0,05were con- For the improvement of the optimal visualization, the sidered as significant. Descriptive values were noted as native coronary artery blood flow is usually occluded by Median(Max-Min). the elastic snare suture or microvascular clamp. In spite Gucuetal.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery2013,8:16 Page5of7 http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/8/1/16 Figure4ScanningelectronmicrographoftheMVclampgroup.Inthissample,detachmentoftheendothelialcellsandpatchyareasof peelingsubendothelialtissuewereobserved.Damagewasevaluatedtype3. of the occlusion of the proximal coronary artery, collat- inhibits cellular growth and migration. Prostacyclin and eralflowimpairsthe visualizationoftheanastomosissite nitricoxidebothexertspotentantiatherogenicandthrom- and distal portion of the coronary artery occlusion may boresistant properties by preventing platelet aggregation be required. This is not recommended to avoid the and cell adhesion. Endothelial vasoconstrictors, such as possibility of the formation of the late term vascular angiotensin II and endothelin-1, both of which exert stenosis and intimal damage [1]. Additional methods are prothromboticandgrowth-promotingpropertiescounter- employed to have an optimal visualization of the anasto- balancestheseeffects[17,18]. mosis site. These methods include intracoronary shunt Ip et al. [19] classified the coronary endothelial damage or occluders and using high flow gas insufflation. into three groups and reported that type 3 damage may Adverse effects of these methods are well reported [1-6]. cause restenosis of the coronaryartery. Similarly, Okazaki Inanexperimentalstudy,Gucu etal. [4]havefound that etal.[2]haveclassifiedtheendothelialdamagein5stages filtrated high flow room air insufflation to the coronary andstatedthat,particularly,type3orstage5damageshad anastomotic area may frequently cause type 1 and rarely resulted in the development of platelet aggregation and type 2 endothelial damage. Intracoronary shunts may thrombus formation. Factors, such as PDGF, initiate posestructurallyandafunctionallypermanentendothelial smoothmuscleproliferationandmigrationandasaresult, damage [5] and high-flow gas insufflation may bear the these factors could lead to an early and a late period riskofgasembolismand/oranendothelialdamage[16]. restenosis[18]. The endothelium is a barrier between the vascular Previous studies have shown that Poloxamer 407 can smoothmuscleandbloodthatproducesenzymesforacti- be utilized to occlude blood vessels during OPCAB vating and deactivating cardiovascular hormones and also [11,15,20,21]. Bouchot et al. [14] have reported that, the producer of relaxing and contracting factors. Vascular Poloxamer 407 was effective as a temporary vascular endothelium is located between the circulating the vascu- occluder during OPCAB anastomoses and the endothe- lar smooth muscle and blood. Endothelial cells release lium of the coronary arteries revealed no functional or a various vasoactive substances regulating the function of structural damage and the myocardium exhibited no vascular smooth muscle and trafficking blood cells. There ischemic injury attributable to the polymer plug. In a are important endothelium-derived vasodilators such as prospective multicenter randomized clinical study, bradykinin, prostacyclin, nitric oxide and, endothelium- Wimmer-Greineckeretal.[21]evaluatedthatPoloxamer derived hyperpolarizing factor. Among these, nitric oxide 407 could be used safely and effectively in the OPCAB Gucuetal.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery2013,8:16 Page6of7 http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/8/1/16 surgery. Poloxamer 407 provided a dry surgical anasto- As a result, the finding of the present study clearly motic field andsurgical comfortmorefrequently thanthe demonstrates the safety of Poloxamer 407 gel occlusion conventional vessel loop. In addition, anastomotic times and shows lower damage to the endothelium when ana- were shorter with Poloxamer 407 and major cardiac lyzed atthescanningelectron microscopical level. eventsweresimilarinthePoloxamer407andvesselloop. Gertz et al. [6] studied the endothelial cell damage Competinginterests Theauthorsdeclarethattheyhavenocompetinginterests. caused by temporary arterial occlusion with surgical clips using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Authors’contributions They have occluded the right carotid artery for 5, 15 and Conceptionanddesigned:AG,CE,IC.Analysisandinterpretation:AG,CE,FT, TG.DataCollection:AG,CE.Writingthearticle:AG,CE.Criticalrevisionofthe 30 minutes with a surgical clip. They reported that the article:AO.Finalapprovalofthearticle:AG,CE,FT,TG,AO.Optioned endotheliumof the compressedsegments revealedcraters funding:notapplicable.Overallresponsibility:AG.Allauthorsreadand and balloons, endothelial cell flattening, discontinuity and approvedthefinalmanuscript. desquamation exposingthe sub endothelial tissueafter 15 Acknowledgements or 30 minutes of occlusion. In this study, there was not WethanktoDr.OzerYilmazforscanningelectronmicroscopicallyanalyses any crater or balloons, but endothelial cell flattening, dis- andDr.IlkerErcanforstatisticalanalyses. continuity and desquamation were observed especially in Authordetails the MVclamp group samples. The duration of occlusion 1DepartmentofCardiovascularSurgery,BursaYuksekIhtisasTrainingand wasnot morethan10minutesin ourstudy since wepre- ResearchHospital,Bursa,Turkey.2DepartmentofHistologyandEmbryology, UludagUniversityFacultyofMedicine,Bursa,Turkey. feredtheoptimaltimeforanastomosisduringOPCAB. According to the literature, in type 1 damage, integrity Received:24September2012Accepted:3January2013 of the endothelial cells is reversible and complete recov- Published:22January2013 ery is expected in this process [22,23]. In our study, no References endothelial damage was observed in 66.7% of the sam- 1. HanglerHB,PfallerK,AntretterH,DapuntOE,BonattiJO:Coronary ples of P 407 group (Figure 1). Type 1 was observed in endothelialinjuryafterlocalocclusiononthehumanbeatingheart. 26.6% (Figure 2), and Type 2 was observed in 6,6% of all AnnThoracSurg2001,71:122–127. 2. OkazakiY,TakarabeK,MurayamaJ,SuenagaE,FurukawaK,RikitakeK, samples (Figure 3). These findings are remarkable to de- NatsuakiM,ItohT:Coronaryendothelialdamageduringoff-pumpCABG termine that the potential damage caused by Poloxamer relatedtocoronary-clampingandgasinsufflation.EurJCardiothoracSurg 407 gel may not give rise to restenosis because in our 2001,19:834–839. 3. BurfeindWR,DuhaylongsodFG,AnnexBH,SamuelsonD:High-flowgas experiment, 93.3% of the vessels occluded by Poloxamer insufflationtofacilitateMIDCABG:effectsoncoronaryendothelium. 407 gel, so the integrity of the endothelium was pre- AnnThoracSurg1998,66:1246–1249. served.Meanwhile,intheMVclampgrouptype3damage 4. GucuA,EnerS,CavusogluI,KayaFN,OzcınarE,AtasoyS,PercinB,KanI, OkarI:Airblowingtocoronaryanastomoticareaandendothelialinjury. was detected in 6.6% of the samples (Figure 4). A statisti- TurkishJThoracCardiovascSurg2002,10:87–91. cally significant difference was found between the three 5. DemariaRG,FortierS,MaloO,CarrierM,PerraultLP:Influenceof groups, and this difference was because of the MVclamp intracoronaryshuntsizeoncoronaryendothelialfunctionduring off-pumpcoronaryarterybypass.HeartSurgForum2003,6:160–168. group because no difference was found between P 407 6. GertzSD,RennelsML,ForbesMS,KawamuraJ,SunagaT,NelsonE: andControlgroup.Ontheotherhand,thedifferencesbe- Endothelialcelldamagebytemporaryarterialocclusionwithsurgical tween MV clamp–Control group and MV clamp–P 407 clips.Studyoftheclipsitebyscanningandtransmissionelectron microscopy.JNeurosurg1976,45:514–519. groups were statistically significant. These results indicate 7. VuralAH,YalcinkayaS,TürkT,YümünG,GülN,YalcinkayaU,KayaM, thatMVclampapplicationhasapotentialtocreateendo- OzyazicioğluA:Intracoronaryshuntversusbulldogclampinoff-pump thelialdamage.Consequently,itcanbesuggestedthat,the bypasssurgery.Endothelialtrauma:shuntversusclamp.JSurgRes2008, 150:261–265. vascular occlusion with Poloxamer 407 gel cause no or a 8. ChavanonO,PerraultLP,MenascheP,CarrierM:Endothelialeffectsof minimaldamageontheendothelium. hemostaticdevicesforcontinuouscardioplegiaorminimallyinvasive operations.Updatein1999.AnnThoracSurg1999,68:1118–1120. 9. MarcelD:Nonionicsurfactanats:polyoxyalkyleneblockcopolymers. Conclusions InSurfactantscienceseries.EditedbyNaceV.NewYork:MarcelDekker; Deployment of Poloxamer 407 gel was easy, as well as 1996:280. the formation of an occlusive plug was instantaneous. 10. QuiY,ParkK:Enviroment-sensitivehydrogelsfordrugdelivery.AdvDrug DelivRev2001,53:321–339. Similarly, dissolution of the Poloxamer 407 plug after 11. BoodhwaniM,FengJ,MienoS,RamlawiB,SodhaN,ClementsR,SellkeFW: the completion of the anastomosis was easy, reliable and Effectsofpurifiedpoloxamer407gelonvascularocclusionandthe quick. There was no report to indicate any embolism to coronaryendothelium.EurJCardiothoracSurg2006,29:736–741. 12. Materialsafetydatasheetforpoloxamer-407.PluronicF-127:BASF myocardium. Recent clinical studies performed on Corporation. human beings confirmed the results of previous 13. RaymondJ,MetcalfeA,SalazkinI,SchwarzA:Temporaryvascular preclinical experiments indicating that Poloxamer 407 occlusionwithpoloxamer407.Biomaterials2004,25:3983–3989. 14. BouchotO,AubinMC,CarrierM,CohnWE,PerraultLP:Temporary gel is a safe and effective temporary occluder in the coronaryarteryocclusionduringoff-pumpcoronaryarterybypass OPCAB surgery. graftingwiththenewpoloxamerP407doesnotcauseendothelial Gucuetal.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery2013,8:16 Page7of7 http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/8/1/16 dysfunctioninepicardialcoronaryarteries.JThoracCardiovascSurg2006, 132:1144–1149. 15. BouchotO,BergerRL,BerneJP,BrunotteF,BrenotR:Clinicalexperience withanovelthermosensitivetemporarycoronaryarteryoccluder (LeGoo).AnnThoracSurg2010,89:1912–1917. 16. NollertG,OberhofferM,ReichartB,VicolC:Combinationofthe HEARTSTRINGproximalsealsystemwithablowermister:apossible sourceofgasemboli.JThoracCardiovascSurg2003,126:1192–1194. 17. RuschitzkaFT,NollG,LüscherTF:Theendotheliumincoronaryartery disease.Cardiology1997,88(Suppl3):3–19. 18. LüscherTF,TannerFC,TschudiMR,NollG:Endothelialdysfunctionin coronaryarterydisease.AnnuRevMed1993,44:395–418. 19. IpJH,FusterV,BadimonL,BadimonJ,TaubmanMB,ChesebroJH: Syndromesofacceleratedatherosclerosis:roleofvascularinjuryand smoothmusclecellproliferation.JAmCollCardiol1990,15:1667–1687. 20. BoodhwaniM,CohnWE,FengJ,RamlawiB,MienoS,SchwarzA,SellkeFW: Safetyandefficacyofanovelgelforvascularocclusioninoff-pump surgery.AnnThoracSurg2005,80:2333–2337. 21. Wimmer-GreineckerG,BouchotO,VerhoyeJP,PerraultLP,BörgermannJ, DiegelerA,VanGarsseL,RastanAJ:Randomizedclinicaltrialcomparinga thermosensitivepolymer(LeGoo)withconventionalvesselloopsfor temporarycoronaryarteryocclusionduringoff-pumpcoronaryartery bypasssurgery.AnnThoracSurg2011,92:2177–2183. 22. BelleEW,BamteriC,AsaharaT,IsnerJM:Endothelialregrowthafterarterial injury:fromvascularrepairtotherapeutics.CardiovascRes1998,38:54–68. 23. RelayMA,SchwartzSM:EndothelialregenerationIII.Timecourseof intimalchangesaftersmalldefinedinjurytorataorticendothelium. LabInvest1981,44:301–308. doi:10.1186/1749-8090-8-16 Citethisarticleas:Gucuetal.:Effectsoftemporaryvascularoccluder poloxamer407Gelontheendothelium.JournalofCardiothoracicSurgery 20138:16. Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission • Thorough peer review • No space constraints or color figure charges • Immediate publication on acceptance • Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar • Research which is freely available for redistribution Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit