Although there is no direct evidence for drawing any such parallels. We demonstrate here in a unique model of liver IRI in pigs that biliverdin suppresses IRI of the liver. Swine are an accepted species on the basis of studies in which human testing might be undertaken. Data show clear salutary effects and that biliverdin in every case, proved significantly beneficial in the majority of the tests we did. Biliverdin proved to be potent cytoprotective agent that also reduced the infiltration of neutrophils and tissue damage significantly. We did not perform dose ranging studies, and thus the single does that was tested cannot be defined as optimized as it may well be that multiple doses and lower doses would be more effective and reduce any potential side effects of biliverdin. Biliverdin and bilirubin have been thought to act primarily via their anti-oxidant actions. We have recently found that biliverdin can also act in an anti-inflammatory manner by binding cell surface biliverdin reductase and interfering with TLR4 signaling as well as initiating signaling via PI3 kinase and Akt. In these reports we delineate a novel localization and function for BVR on the cell surface, which is phosphorylated in response to BV or a AbMole Clofentezine stressor and rapidly, through an eNOS-dependent mechanism, translocates to the nucleus to regulate gene transcription. In this study we treated the donor animal and the recipient with biliverdin that was rapidly converted to bilirubin in the serum. Whether the bilirubin that was generated was conjugated or unconjugated to albumin was not determined in these studies, but based on rodent studies where BV to BR results in elevations in conjugated bilirubin, we would expect a similar occurrence in pigs. In rodents in a model of IRI in the heart, treatment of the donor and the recipient had beneficial results and even better effects when combined with inhaled carbon monoxide. CO has been extensively studied in transplant models. Others have found that a biliverdin or bilirubin given just before transplantation but after preservation also had beneficial results. Still others have induced HO-1 only in the donor and shown benefit from such treatment. In that case, however, one might argue that HO-1 is still expressed in the organ after transplantation and thus it is harder to ascertain where the effect is most important. From a clinical perspective, one could treat at all three stages. However, further experiments are indicated to dissect if donor treatment alone, for instance, will provide much of the effect seen when treatment is also given to the organ and then to the recipient. Studies with biliverdin and bilirubin show enhanced survival of islets after allogeneic transplantation when treating only the donor leads to long-term survival and antigen-specific tolerance in a majority of the untreated recipients.