title: High-dose tacrolimus and lengthy survival of the combined rat pancreas/spleen graft in a high-responder combination.
abstract: Pancreas grafts do not survive for lengthy periods, especially in a high-responder rat combination. Recent data indicated that a combined spleen/pancreas graft protects against acute graft rejection and induces donor-specific tolerance. In this study, we performed a combination spleen/pancreas transplantation using high-dose tacrolimus in a high-responder rat combination of DA (RT1a) to LEW (RT1) and induced permanent survival in the few recipient rats. In these recipients, there was no difference in the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) of the recipients when compared with that of the naive LEW splenic cells, but MLR inhibition by the serum from the recipients was significantly decreased. We also performed immunoblotting and detected a protein that has an affinity for the anti-DA class antibody. This protein may be an anti-idiotypic antibody and contribute to donor- and tissue-specific tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jichi Medical School, Yakushiji Minamikawachi, Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000601:surgery; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000473:pathology; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; C038353:histocompatibility antigens RT, rat; D016559:Tacrolimus