Intratracheal administration of siRNA targeting FAS reduces ischemia-reperfusion-induced lung injury

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is one of the main causes of primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation. Fas-mediated apoptosis plays a major role in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Exogenous administration of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is an effective strategy to specifically silence the expression of proteins through blocking the translation of mRNA. The aim of this study was to investigate in an ex vivo mouse model of lung ventilation and perfusion whether a specific siRNA targeting Fas is able to reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury.