Pituitary transplantation: cyclosporine enables transplantation across a minor histocompatibility barrier.
Pituitary glands from neonatal donors were transplanted to the median eminence of hypophysectomized adult rats. Rats with transplants were then treated for 2 weeks with the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine. For 5 weeks thereafter, blood was drawn at regular intervals for determination of serum thyroxine, prolactin, and luteinizing hormone. Cyclosporine-treated recipients of grafts with minor histocompatibility differences had normal levels of thyroxine and prolactin, whereas untreated animals did not. In addition, the treated animals responded to oophorectomy with a marked elevation in serum luteinizing hormone. This evidence indicates that cyclosporine enables successful transplantation across a minor histocompatibility barrier. It also suggests that these grafts interact with the hypothalamus. Transplantation across a major histocompatibility barrier was unsuccessful even in the presence of cyclosporine.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003524:Cyclosporins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000187:drug effects*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000187:drug effects*; D008473:Median Eminence / Q000601:surgery; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000637:transplantation*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood
D003524:Cyclosporins; D011388:Prolactin; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D013974:Thyroxine