title: Tolerance or rejection: A delicate balance as judged by exposure of heart-transplanted rats to the immunomodulator Linomide.
abstract: When applied in rodent transplant models most immunosuppressive drugs yield adequate graft protection for as long as the drug is given, and permanent graft survival is often induced. The immunomodulator, Linomide, previously shown to stimulate T cells and prevent apoptosis, usually reduces or abolishes both tolerance induction and the graft-protective effect of the immunosuppressive drug. By chance, we observed that Linomide alone exerted a modest but unequivocal graft-protective effect in the BN to WF strain combination. This finding was analysed by simple genetic mapping of rat strains. Untreated WF recipients kept BN grafts for a median of 8 days, whereas Linomide treatment prolonged graft survival to 12. 5 days (P = 0.0001). In control groups (DA to LEW, BN to LEW, DA to WF and WF to BN), median graft survival was 5.5-7 days irrespective of whether Linomide was given. However, the BN to F1 (LEW x WF) combination also manifested slightly longer graft survival in the presence of Linomide. F1 (BN x WF) to WF grafts survived a median of 15 days without Linomide and 46 days with Linomide treatment. Both in the presence and absence of Linomide, two of the control graft combinations [F1 (BN x DA) to WF and F1 (BN x WF) to BN] manifested 6-7-day graft survival. Taken together, our results suggest a delicate balance between unresponsiveness and rejection, while a single agent (Linomide) may either cause on its own long-term survival of allografts in one setting or rejection despite optimal immunosuppression in another setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Research, Lund University, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tufveson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ekberg
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000276:immunology*; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D006912:Hydroxyquinolines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D011920:Rats, Inbred WF; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D006912:Hydroxyquinolines; C045282:roquinimex