Antidonor humoral transfer induces transplant arteriosclerosis in aortic and cardiac graft models in rats.
OBJECTIVE
The humoral pathway is suggested as playing a key role in transplant arteriosclerosis. The humoral immunity is demonstrated in the present study to induce direct vascular lesion.


METHODS
Ten abdominal aortic grafts were performed on 4 groups of rats: Brown Norway (BN) isografts, BN to Lewis (LEW) allografts, and two BN to nude (RNU) grafted groups with and without any humoral transfer. The humoral sera were obtained by skin grafts performed in BN to LEW combination. Lewis anti-BN alloantisera was transferred in nude recipients through intraperitoneal injections. The aortic wall was histologically studied with morphometric analysis on the 21st day. Two additional BN to RNU aortic graft groups were evaluated by immunohistochemistry on days 3 (10 rats) and 10 (10 rats).


RESULTS
In the absence of the humoral transfer, the BN aortic wall implanted in RNU remained intact. The humoral transfer induced a marked intimal proliferation (63 +/- 4 vs 4 +/- 1.1 microm; P < .001) and an adventitial cell infiltration (5.1 +/- 0.7 vs 2.8 +/- 0.6 x 10(3) c/mm2, P < .001). The medial thickness and the medial cell density were not modified. On day 3, the remaining endothelial cells were covered by immunoglobulin G deposits. On day 10 the endothelial cells disappeared completely and intimal proliferation occurred. In an additional cardiac graft group, transplant coronary arteriopathy was evidenced in 7 of the 9 nude recipients that had undergone the humoral transfer.


CONCLUSIONS
The transplant arterial occlusive lesion is demonstrated here (1) to be induced by humoral antidonor immunity and (2) to be linked to an adventitial or perivascular inflammation.
Alkhatib
Bassam
B
Cardiac and Vascular Surgery Department, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, France.
Freguin-Bouilland
Caroline
C
Litzler
Pierre Yves
PY
Jacquot
Serge
S
Lallemand
Françoise
F
Henry
Jean Paul
JP
Thuillez
Christian
C
Plissonnier
Didier
D
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000379:methods; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D011923:Rats, Nude; D012307:Risk Factors; D013045:Species Specificity; D014181:Transplantation Immunology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens