Cellular mechanisms underlying differential rejection of sequential heart and lung allografts in rats

Frank Moller, Grant Hoyt, Fausto Farfan, Vaughn A. Starnes, Carol Clayberger*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

As the simultaneous transplantation of two or more organs into a single recipient has become increasingly common, asynchronous allograft rejection has become an important clinical problem. To investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying differential organ rejection, we developed a rat model in which heart and lung allografts were transplanted sequentially. Heterotopic heart allografts transplanted into DA recipients from PVG donors survived indefinitely if the recipients were given a short course of rabbit antirat thymocyte globulin or cyclosporine at the time of transplantation. In contrast, orthotopic left lungs transplanted under the same conditions were rejected in ATG-treated recipients and accepted in most CsA-treated recipients. These animals were then given a second organ allograft from the same strain or a third party to assess whether they exhibited donor specific tolerance and whether the acceptance or rejection of the first allograft would influence the survival of the second transplant. Animals tolerized to a heart allograft with ATG rejected an orthotopic lung transplant from the same strain as the original allograft, whereas recipients treated with CsA at the time of their heart transplant accepted a subsequent lung graft. Surprisingly, animals treated with either ATG or CsA that had rejected a lung allograft accepted a subsequent heart transplant. Using limiting dilution analysis and adoptive transfer studies, we found that some recipients had developed suppressor cells while others demonstrated anergy. We conclude that major histocompatibility complex antigens as well as other antigens are involved in the differential rejection of heart and lung allografts.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)650-655
Number of pages6
JournalTransplantation
Volume55
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1993

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Transplantation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Cellular mechanisms underlying differential rejection of sequential heart and lung allografts in rats'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this