Prolongation of allogeneic heart graft survival in the rat after implantation on portal vein.
In rats, heart allografts with venous drainage via the portal vein were performed and compared with similar grafts draining into the inferior vena cava. A new technique was developed using the complete thoracic descending aorta and ligation of all its branches. The descending thoracic aorta was anastomosed to the recipient's abdominal aorta below the left renal vein. The pulmonary artery was implanted on the portal vein in an end to side fashion. In two rat strain combinations the allograft survival time was significantly prolonged when compared to that of the control grafts with pulmonary-caval anastomosis. The presumed mechanism for this prolonged graft survival might be the sequestration or degradation of transplantation antigens in the liver during their first passage through this organ. In this way only a small amount of antigen reaches the systemic circulation.
D000818:Animals; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006084:Graft Rejection; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006648:Histocompatibility; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D011169:Portal Vein; D051381:Rats; D014181:Transplantation Immunology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014684:Venae Cavae