TY - JOUR
T1 - Role of Airway Epithelial Injury in Murine Orthotopic Tracheal Allograft Rejection
AU - Kuo, Elbert
AU - Bharat, Ankit
AU - Shih, Jennifer
AU - Street, Tyler
AU - Norris, Jenyi
AU - Liu, Wei
AU - Parks, William
AU - Walter, Michael
AU - Patterson, G. Alexander
AU - Mohanakumar, T.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants NIH/RO1-HL66452 (Dr Mohanakumar) and NIH/T32-AI07163 (Dr Kuo). The authors would like to express their thanks to Billie Glasscock and Dr Celeste Kuo for their assistance in preparing this manuscript and to Dr Richard B. Schuessler for his statistical analysis of our data.
PY - 2006/10
Y1 - 2006/10
N2 - Background: Murine tracheal transplantation is a model used to study bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, a major cause of morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation. Unlike murine heterotopic tracheal transplants, orthotopic transplantation does not cause luminal obliteration despite major histocompatibility antigen mismatch. Repopulation of the tracheal allografts with recipient-derived epithelium confers protection against luminal obliteration. The purpose of this study was to determine whether (1) orthotopic tracheal transplantation showed signs of allograft rejection, and (2) airway epithelial cell injury promoted orthotopic tracheal allograft rejection. Methods: Forty isogeneic (C57BL/6 to C57BL/6) and 40 allogeneic (BALB/c to C57BL/6) orthotopic tracheal transplants were performed. Damage to airway epithelial cells was induced by Sendai viral (SdV) infection and tracheal transplantation into non-reepithelializing matrix metalloproteinase-7 knockout (MMP7-KO) recipient mice. Percent fibrosis and lamina propria to cartilage ratio were calculated with computer assistance on harvested allografts. Results: Allografts showed significantly more intramural fibrosis compared with isografts at 30, 60, and 180 days after transplant without luminal occlusion. Tracheal allografts infected with SdV showed an increase in fibrosis and lamina propria to cartilage ratio compared with noninfected controls. Allografts retrieved from MMP7-KO recipients also showed a significant increase in fibrosis and lamina propria to cartilage ratio. Conclusions: Although orthotopic tracheal transplantation does not cause luminal obliteration, it results in increased fibrosis in allografts. Damage to the respiratory epithelium by viral infection or defective reepithelialization after transplant as seen in MMP7-KO recipient mice leads to changes consistent with chronic allograft rejection, suggesting a role for epithelial injury in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome development.
AB - Background: Murine tracheal transplantation is a model used to study bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, a major cause of morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation. Unlike murine heterotopic tracheal transplants, orthotopic transplantation does not cause luminal obliteration despite major histocompatibility antigen mismatch. Repopulation of the tracheal allografts with recipient-derived epithelium confers protection against luminal obliteration. The purpose of this study was to determine whether (1) orthotopic tracheal transplantation showed signs of allograft rejection, and (2) airway epithelial cell injury promoted orthotopic tracheal allograft rejection. Methods: Forty isogeneic (C57BL/6 to C57BL/6) and 40 allogeneic (BALB/c to C57BL/6) orthotopic tracheal transplants were performed. Damage to airway epithelial cells was induced by Sendai viral (SdV) infection and tracheal transplantation into non-reepithelializing matrix metalloproteinase-7 knockout (MMP7-KO) recipient mice. Percent fibrosis and lamina propria to cartilage ratio were calculated with computer assistance on harvested allografts. Results: Allografts showed significantly more intramural fibrosis compared with isografts at 30, 60, and 180 days after transplant without luminal occlusion. Tracheal allografts infected with SdV showed an increase in fibrosis and lamina propria to cartilage ratio compared with noninfected controls. Allografts retrieved from MMP7-KO recipients also showed a significant increase in fibrosis and lamina propria to cartilage ratio. Conclusions: Although orthotopic tracheal transplantation does not cause luminal obliteration, it results in increased fibrosis in allografts. Damage to the respiratory epithelium by viral infection or defective reepithelialization after transplant as seen in MMP7-KO recipient mice leads to changes consistent with chronic allograft rejection, suggesting a role for epithelial injury in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome development.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33748741285&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2006.03.122
DO - 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2006.03.122
M3 - Article
C2 - 16996912
AN - SCOPUS:33748741285
SN - 0003-4975
VL - 82
SP - 1226
EP - 1233
JO - Annals of Thoracic Surgery
JF - Annals of Thoracic Surgery
IS - 4
ER -