title: Morphologic features of rejection in long-surviving canine small bowel transplants.
abstract: We studied morphologic features of small bowel transplants in 25 dogs immunosuppressed by cyclosporine, and preoperative graft irradiation. Graft and host bowel were compared with respect to multiple histologic parameters in a blinded analysis. A lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate in nerves and vessels in submucosa and muscle was present in 18 graft bowels and only 3 host bowels, suggesting that these findings represent a cellular rejection reaction. The other histologic parameters were the same in graft and host bowel. Although the dogs did not exhibit clinical signs of rejection, end-stage scarring of the bowel and death occurred in 6 dogs. The animals did not develop systemic graft-verus-host reaction. These findings indicate that under cyclosporine therapy, a subclinical rejection reaction persists deep in the wall and may remain undetectable in mucosal biopsies, but may progress to destroy the graft.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Rush Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Banner
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003524:Cyclosporins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004285:Dogs; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006087:Graft vs Host Reaction; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000637:transplantation*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000473:pathology; D011300:Preoperative Care
chemical_list: D003524:Cyclosporins