title: Donor liver natural killer cells alleviate liver allograft acute rejection in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver enriched natural killer (NK) cells are of high immune activity. However, the function of donor liver NK cells in allogeneic liver transplantation (LTx) remains unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten Gy of whole body gamma-irradiation (WBI) from a 60Co source at 0.6 Gy/min was used for depleting donor-derived leukocytes, and transfusion of purified liver NK cells isolated from the same type rat as donor (donor type liver NK cells, dtlNKs) through portal vein was performed immediately after grafting the irradiated liver. Post-transplant survival observation on recipients and histopathological detection of liver grafts were adoptive to evaluate the biological impact of donor liver NK cells on recipients' survival in rat LTx.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Transfusion of dtlNKs did not shorten the survival time among the recipients of spontaneous tolerance model (BN to LEW rat) after rat LTx, but prolonged the liver graft survival among the recipients depleted of donor-derived leukocytes in the acute rejection model (LEW to BN rat). Compared to the recipients in the groups which received the graft depleted of donor-derived leukocytes, better survival and less damage in the allografts were also found among the recipients in the two different strain combinations of liver allograft due to transfusion of dtlNKs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Donor liver NK cells alone do not exacerbate liver allograft acute rejection. Conversely, they can alleviate it, and improve the recipients' survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 107 W Yanjiang Road, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Tian-Zhu
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Guo-Lin
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Li-Hong
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Hao-Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yong-Heng
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ya-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yun-Le
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006085:Graft Survival; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013997:Time Factors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014916:Whole-Body Irradiation