Vascular rejection and graft eosinophilia in rat lung allografts.
Allogeneic lung transplantation was performed using a rat model in order to assess the pathologic changes that developed during the process of rejection. The left lungs of 38 BN rats (RT-1n) were orthotopically transplanted into LEW rats (RT-1). The allografts developed the well-known changes of perivascular, peribronchial, and interstitial lymphocytic infiltrates resulting in necrosis of the pulmonary parenchyma at 7-8 days after transplantation. In addition, we document two findings that have not been reported previously in lung transplantation: vasculitis and eosinophilic infiltrates. Vasculitis with swelling and vacuolization of the endothelial cells was observed in transplants as early as 3 days following transplantation. Vasculitis with fibrinoid necrosis of the vessel wall was prominent at 7-8 days after grafting. The allografts also exhibited eosinophilia at 2 to 4 days following transplantation. The density of eosinophils in the inflammatory infiltrate reached a peak of 20% on Day 3 post-transplantation. These findings suggest an important role of humoral immunity and a possible involvement of eosinophils in lung allograft rejection.
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California 90048.
T
T
Kondo
A M
AM
Marchevsky
S C
SC
Jordan
S K
SK
Koerner
J M
JM
Matloff
P F
PF
Waters
D000818:Animals; D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000473:pathology*; D006084:Graft Rejection; D008168:Lung / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009336:Necrosis; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000473:pathology