The Sigma-1 Receptor Is a Novel Target for Improving Cold Preservation in Rodent Kidney Transplants

Kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment for patients with end-stage kidney disease. Maintaining organ viability between donation and transplantation, as well as minimizing ischemic injury, are critically important for long-term graft function and survival. Moreover, the increasing shortage of transplantable organs is a considerable problem; thus, optimizing the condition of grafts is a pivotal task. Here, rodent models of kidney transplantation and cold storage were used to demonstrate that supplementation of a preservation solution with Sigma-1 receptor (S1R) agonist fluvoxamine (FLU) reduces cold and warm ischemic injury. Post-transplant kidney function was improved, histological injury was mitigated, and mRNA expression of two tubular injury markers—kidney injury molecule-1 and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin—was robustly reduced. In addition, renal inflammation was diminished, as shown by reduced leukocyte infiltration and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. In the cold ischemia model, FLU ameliorated structural injury profoundly after 2 h as well as 24 h. The reduced number of TUNEL-positive and Caspase 3-positive cells suggests the anti-apoptotic effect of FLU. None of these beneficial effects of FLU were observed in S1R(−/−) mice. Of note, organ damage in FLU-treated kidneys after 24 h of cold storage was similar to just 2 h without FLU. These results indicate that S1R agonists can prolong storage time and have great potential in improving organ preservation and in alleviating the problem of organ shortages.