Vascular transplant rejection of rat renal allografts across strong histocompatibility barriers.
Sixty-one rat renal allografts were studied by light microscopy and in 18 cases also by immunohistology. Donor and recipient differ at a major histocompatibility locus in the one group (n = 37), and by an additional weak histocompatibility antigen in the other (n = 24). The mean survival time is 10.4 days and 8.3 days, respectively. A semiquantitative grading of the histologic findings shows that in both groups the rejection is predominantly manifested by lesions of extraglomerular and glomerular vessels, whereas mononuclear cell infiltration appears to be of less significance. The essential findings are necrosis of arteries and arterioles, necrosis of glomerular cells with mesangiolysis, and focal tubular necroses. This morphologic rejection type is interpreted as the result of a mixed humoral and cellular immune response, although the constant participation of circulating antibodies in the vascular damage could not be established. Since the tubular necroses correlate well with the degree of vascular alterations, but not with the mononuclear cell infiltration it would seem reasonable to conclude that these necroses are secondary to ischemia produced by vascular lesions. Finally, there is no significant difference in the degree of rejection between the two donor/recipient groups, and, therefore, there is no morphologic evidence for an increase of the rejection process by additional weak histoincompatibility in the examined strain combinations.
D000818:Animals; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006648:Histocompatibility; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D009336:Necrosis; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens