Alpha-1-antitrypsin Safely Promotes Rapid Recovery of Pigs after Lung Transplantation

Primary graft dysfunction is an important complication requiring surveillance in the first 3 days after lung transplantation. Currently, there is no effective clinical therapy to prevent or treat primary graft dysfunction. Alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) is a serine-protease inhibitor that inhibits neutrophil elastase and has been used for decades as a safe augmentation therapy for patients with A1AT deficiency. We have previously shown that administration of A1AT results in antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic effects that combat ischemia-reperfusion injury across cell culture, preclinical (rat and pig) nonsurvival lung transplant, and pig ex vivo lung perfusion models.