title: Dietary amino acids as new and novel agents to enhance allograft survival.
abstract: Dietary supplementation with arginine was previously found to enhance cardiac allograft survival in rats when given with a donor-specific transfusion and a short low-dose course of cyclosporine. This study was performed to determine further the role of amino acid supplementation in prolonging allograft survival. Standard isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets were modified to contain 2 or 4% of energy from arginine, 2 or 4% from glutamine, 4% from glycine or the following combinations: 2% arginine with 2% glutamine, 2% arginine with 4% glutamine, or 1% arginine with 2% glutamine. These diets were started along with a donor-specific transfusion and a 7-d course of cyclosporine the day before cardiac transplantation from an ACI to Lewis strain rat. Median survival times in days for the groups were as follows: control without amino acids, 19.0; 2% arginine, 68.0; 4% arginine, 35.5; 2% glutamine, 28.5; 4% glutamine, 53.5; 4% glycine, 31.5; 2% arginine with 2% glutamine, 39.5; 2% arginine with 4% glutamine, 42.5 and 1% arginine with 2% glutamine, 35.5. Each experimental diet except 2% glutamine and 4% glycine significantly enhanced allograft survival (P < 0.05) with the 2% arginine diet being the best (91.6 +/- 32.3 d [mean +/- SEM] versus 20.1 +/- 3.2 d for control). It is concluded that both arginine and glutamine enhance the immunosuppressive effects of donor-specific transfusion and cyclosporine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Ohio 45267-0558, USA. alexanjw@healthall.com
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Custer
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Ogle
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Babcock
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005973:Glutamine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006085:Graft Survival; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011912:Rats, Inbred ACI; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous