title: A new model of corneal transplantation in the miniature pig: efficacy of immunosuppressive treatment.
abstract: Corneal allograft rejection is frequently studied in small rodent or rabbit models. To study mechanisms of rejection in a model that more closely mimics transplantation in humans, we performed orthotopic corneal transplantation in the miniature pig using a 7-mm diameter donor graft. Four groups of recipients were studied: 1) untreated naive, 2) untreated vascularized (high risk), 3) high-risk grafts treated by topical application of prednisolone, or 4) high-risk grafts treated with a combined systemic immunosuppression regime of oral prednisone, cyclosporine A, and mycophenolate mofetil. Both the clinical features and histological assessment of corneal graft rejection showed close similarities to graft rejection in humans. Interestingly, preliminary results indicated that topical steroid treatment was superior to systemic immunosuppression in significantly promoting graft survival. Thus, corneal transplantation in the pig represents an animal model most closely resembling corneal grafting in humans, and offers possibilities for testing various clinically applicable immunosuppressive treatments.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Urania
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tavandzi
authors.forename: Radek
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Procházka
authors.forename: Dusan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Usvald
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hlucílová
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vitásková
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Motlík
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vítová
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filipec
authors.forename: John V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Forrester
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Holán
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000276:immunology* / Q000379:methods*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023421:Models, Animal; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents