title: Prolongation of survival of primary renal allografts by feeding of donor spleen cells.
abstract: We have found that feeding Brown Norway (BN) rat spleen cells to Lewis rats prior to transplanting BN kidneys prolongs allograft survival (mean: 8.8 days in unfed rats, 21 days in the BN cell-fed rats; longest survival: 11 days without allo-feeding vs. 37 days with feeding). We have also found that feeding BN cells both before and after transplantation further extends survival (mean: 38 days; longest survival: 105 days). We also examined the cells infiltrating the grafts during the early stages of the allograft response (day 5). Using flow cytometry, we found a significant decrease in the number of leukocytes infiltrating the transplanted kidneys of fed animals. This decrease was mainly due to a drop in the number of infiltrating T cells. We also found that cytokine mRNA production by the graft-infiltrating lymphocytes, assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, showed a significant increase in interleukin-4 and transforming-growth factor-beta mRNA in the graft-infiltrating lymphocytes of fed animals compared with the controls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kearsey
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Stadnyk
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007441:Intubation, Gastrointestinal; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011169:Portal Vein; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines