title: Leech responses to tissue transplantation.
abstract: The aim of the present work is to describe histologically, histochemically and immunocytochemically, the sequence of events that lead to first and second set rejection of allo- or xenograft in leeches. Graft responses of leeches are comparable and are described following specific steps: inflammatory phase, rejection phase and granulation tissue formation (including re-epithelialisation, angiogenesis and fibroplasia).The responses to first and second graft in first set graft rejection as well as to the first transplant in second set graft experiments are identical and in the time span of a week all grafts are destroyed and disappear. In the second set graft rejection experiments the responses against the second transplant are markedly accelerated. The second graft shows massive structural alterations and it is rapidly rejected, within 3-4 days.Our results permit to highlight that in leeches there is a specific responsiveness of immune system similar to those described in highly divergent phyla.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Insubria, Via J.H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tettamanti
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferrarese
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palazzi
authors.forename: Gianpaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perletti
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Valvassori
authors.forename: Edwin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lanzavecchia
authors.forename: Magda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Eguileor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology*; D007865:Leeches / Q000502:physiology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D016378:Tissue Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D014181:Transplantation Immunology / Q000502:physiology; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*