Anti-rejection effect of ethanol extract of Poria cocos wolf in rats after cardiac allograft implantation.
BACKGROUND
A living fetus within the maternal uterus provides an example of allogene tolerance in mammals. Poria cocos Wolf is the main component of many Chinese medicinal combination drugs that have therapeutic effects on recurrent spontaneous abortion and that can maintain pregnancy until delivery. It was hypothesized that this herbal medicine can also prolong allograft survival after organ transplantation. Here, in an in vivo study, we report the anti-rejection effect of the ethanol extract of Poria cocos Wolf (EEPCW) in rats after cardiac allograft implantation.


METHODS
Ten normal rats were healthy controls. Eighty rats receiving homologous heart transplants were divided into 4 groups of 20 rats each based on type of treatment: olive oil 8 ml.kg(-1).d(-1), EEPCW 25 mg.kg(-1).d(-1), EEPCW 50 mg.kg(-1).d(-1) or cyclosporin A 5 mg.kg(-1).d(-1). Allograft survival was observed in 10 rats from each group. On the seventh day post transplantation, pathological lesions and percentages of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ lymphocytes and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio in peripheral blood were assessed in another 10 rats from each group and in 10 normal rats.


RESULTS
The survival time of donor hearts in the two EEPCW groups was significantly prolonged, to (15.9 +/- 2.4) days and (30.0 +/- 0.0) days, respectively, compared with (6.7 +/- 0.8) days in the control group. Pathological lesions in the two EEPCW groups were also less severe, and the percentages of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ ratio were significantly lower in the EEPCW groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Acute rejection of heart transplants and cellular immune reaction can be effectively suppressed using the EEPCW. Taking advantage of novel immunosuppressants derived from Chinese medicinal herbs used to treat abnormal pregnancy provides a hopeful road for future research and treatment in organ transplantation.
Zhang
Guo-wei
GW
Second Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China. godway@tom.com
Liu
Hong-yu
HY
Xia
Qiu-ming
QM
Li
Jun-quan
JQ
Lü
Hang
H
Zhang
Qing-hua
QH
Yao
Zhi-fa
ZF
D000818:Animals; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D020072:Polyporales / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents