Early experience with cyclosporine: a historic perspective.
Cyclosporine, a new antilymphocyte peptide, was tested in heterotopic heart transplantation between two different strains of rats. Prolongation of rat heart allograft survival was observed in treated hosts as compared with untreated controls (P<.001). These pioneering studies in pedicle animal grafts proved that cyclosporine is an extremely potent immunosuppressive drug. Its ability to suppress allograft rejection episodes could be applied to other species of animals and to humans.
Kostakis
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2nd Department of Propedeutic Surgery, Athens University, Medical School, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Greece. akostak@med.uoa.gr
D000818:Animals; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000276:immunology*
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine