Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury (RIRI)

Ischaemia-reperfusion injury is a complex interrelated sequence of events that classically involves the vascular endothelium and activated leucocytes. During the ischaemic phase the endothelium is primed both to produce free radicals and to secrete chemoattractants. The resultant neutrophil sequestration serves to amplify the injury. 

Renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury is complex for, while ischaemia primes the tissue for reperfusion damage, it also causes early and irreversible tubular injury. Furthermore, it appears that relatively less importance should be attached to the involvement of neutrophils than at other sites, and relatively more to a local postischaemic imbalance in the levels of nitric oxide and endothelin. Models for renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury are widely used in rats, mice for research of acute renal failurerenal transplantation and changes of cytokins.