title: Absence of graft-versus-host disease in the isolated vascularized bone marrow transplant.
abstract: An isolated vascularized bone marrow transplant (iVBMT) model was developed to study the contribution of the bone marrow component in a composite tissue allograft. We hypothesized that the iVBMT would be functional and cause graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in a fraction of the recipients. Lewis iVBMT grafts were transplanted to Lewis-Brown Norway recipients. Animals were sacrificed at various times from 1 to 14 weeks. Polymerase chain reaction for microchimerism was performed on the host's marrow. No animals exhibited signs of GVHD at death. Histologic examination of the grafts showed a normal mix of hematopoietic and fatty elements and appeared to be functional. Tissues usually affected-tongue, ear, liver, and gut-also showed no evidence of disease. Polymerase chain reaction demonstrated microchimerism in both groups. These findings suggest that the vascularized bone marrow within a composite tissue allograft is not the component that causes GVHD; rather, it may serve an immunomodulatory function for tolerance induction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Cooper Health System, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Camden, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Chau Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: Louise F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Strande
authors.forename: Riva
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eydelman
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: VanTran
authors.forename: Martha S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hewitt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000098:blood supply*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000276:immunology