title: Surgical technique of experimental lung transplantation in rabbits.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although rabbits have often been used as an experimental model for the analysis of lung preservation, there are no reports of long-term survival after rabbit lung allotransplantation. The purpose of this study was to establish a lung allotransplantation model for the evaluation of acute lung rejection in the rabbit and to investigate the transplantation techniques in the rabbit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Left unilateral lung allotransplantations were performed in 10 pairs of Japanese white male rabbits, weighing from 2.8 to 3.7 kg. Rabbits were divided into two groups. Group A rabbits (n=5) received Cyclosporine A (CsA) (20 mg/kg/day) orally for 5 days postoperatively, while Group B rabbits (n=5) received no CsA. All rabbits were sacrificed at the fifth postoperative day for histological examinations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anastomoses of the pulmonary vein were achieved by using the atrial cuff technique. Satisfied blood flow was obtained in all arterial and venous anastomosis sites. Bronchial anastomosis was also well healed and all rabbits could maintain adequate spontaneous ventilation. In Group A, histopathology revealed that three cases were grade A0, one was grade A1 and the other was A2. In Group B, three cases lived for five days, and histopathology showed two cases were grade A2 and one case was grade A3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We established a left unilateral lung allotransplantation model in the rabbit and observed suppression of acute rejection of the transplanted lung by CsA. This study suggests that the rabbit is also an experimental model suited for the analysis of lung preservation as well as lung allotransplant rejection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigetoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasufuku
authors.forename: Takekazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Takehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001980:Bronchi / Q000601:surgery; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016040:Lung Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000379:methods; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000601:surgery; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000601:surgery; D011817:Rabbits; D011859:Radiography
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine