title: Heme oxygenase-1 expression and its significance for acute rejection following kidney transplantation in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze rejection and antiapoptotic effects of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in kidney transplantations, to investigate the protective effects of endogenous HO-1 induced by hemin on acute rat kidney allograft rejection.
  
  
  METHODS
  We selected 27 Brown-Norway rats and 27 male Lewis rats as donors and recipients, respectively, randomly dividing them into three groups: kidney transplantation alone, hemin treatment group, and cyclosporine (CsA) group (n = 18). Six recipient rats were harvested on the first, fifth, or seventh days after operation among each group to examine histopathologic changes in renal tissue, HO-1 protein expression, and acute rejection as well as to measure serum creatinine values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HO-1 expression in both the kidney transplantation model group and the hemin-induced groups were higher compared with the CsA group (P < .05-.01). The expression increased with the aggravation of rejection; the expression in the CsA group also increased after transplantation but was obviously lower than that of the hemin-induced group (P < .01). The rejection process was relatively mild as indenset by histopathologic examination. The serum creatinine levels among the hemin-induced group were lower compared to the kidney transplantation control group (P < .05), but higher compared to the CsA group (P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HO-1 provided protection of allografts against rejection in rats, but such effects were poorer than those achieved using potent immunosuppressive agents like CsA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Command, Chengdu China. lishadan@hotmail.com
authors.forename: S-D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: K-Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: K-Q
authors.initials: KQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Q-S
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: F-S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew
chemical_list: D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); C491523:Hmox1 protein, rat