title: Seeding of recipient-originated epithelial cells attenuates epithelial to mesenchymal transition in rat tracheal allotransplantation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The specific role and mechanism of epithelium in the progression of obliterative airway disease (OAD) after tracheal allotransplantation remain poorly understood. In this study, we used rat heterotopic tracheal transplantation to investigate the mechanism of epithelial cell seeding during the process of OAD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, basic science.
  
  
  METHODS
  Research laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 120 Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and 90 Wistar rats were used. Tracheas from SD rats were implanted into SD rats (syngeneic, n = 30) or Wistar rats (allogeneic, n = 30), and SD rat tracheas (seeded with Wistar rat-derived epithelial cells 6 days after transplantation) were transplanted into Wistar rats (seeded allogeneic, n = 30). Grafts were harvested at 7, 14, or 30 days after transplantation for histologic, quantitative reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction or Western blot analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Syngrafts retained normal histologic structures, while the corresponding allografts demonstrated less ciliated epithelia and more lumenal occlusion. Seeding of epithelial cells ameliorated the histologic changes, reduced the expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related transcriptional factors and mesenchymal markers, and dampened the expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and phosphorylation of smad3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Seeding of recipient epithelial cells inhibits the progression of OAD by attenuating EMT via TGF-β-Smad signaling in rat heterotopic tracheal allografts. Clinically, the injection of recipient-originated epithelial cells might provide new insights into the treatment for OAD after tracheal allotransplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Zhipei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China tdchest1@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiaofei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001989:Bronchiolitis Obliterans / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000502:physiology*; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014132:Trachea / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta
keywords: epithelial cell seeding; epithelial to mesenchymal transition; obliterative airway disease; tracheal allotransplantation