Premium
Persistent infiltration of CD45RC − CD4 + T cells, Th2‐like effector cells, in prolonging hepatic allografts in rats pretreated with a donor‐specific blood transfusion
Author(s) -
Miyanari N,
Yamaguchi Y,
Matsuno K,
Tominaga A,
Goto M,
Ichiguchi O,
Mori K,
Ogawa M
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.510250436
Subject(s) - transplantation , antigen , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , t lymphocyte , medicine , andrology
A single intravenous injection of freshly heparinized blood from a donor‐specific blood transfusion (DST) seven days before transplantation significantly prolongs the subsequent survival of hepatic allografts from ACI(RT1 a ) to LEW(RT1 1 ) rats. We used W3/25 (anti‐CD4) and OX22 (anti‐CD45 RC: an isoform of leukocyte‐common antigen [CD45R]) monoclonal antibodies to investigate the cellular identity of hepatic allograft infiltrates following transplantation. The number of CD4 + and CD45RC + cells in untreated allografts increased equally over time by day seven. However, in DST‐treated hepatic allografts, CD4 + and CD45RC + cells also increased over time by day 14, but the increment in the number of CD4 + cells was significantly greater than that in CD45RC + cells. While the number of CD4 + cells remained persistently elevated in the hepatic allografts of rats pretreated with DST, they did not initiate rejection. Fluorescence‐activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis revealed that the accumulated CD4 + T cells could be divided into two subsets, CD45RC − CD4 + and CD45RC + CD4 + T cells, and that the ratio of CD45RC − CD4 + /CD45RC + CD4 + T cells in the hepatic allografts of recipients pretreated with DST was significantly greater than that in untreated allografts. Reverse‐transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) analysis demonstrated that CD45RC‐CD4 + T cells expressed interleukin (IL)‐4 and IL‐10 messenger RNA (mRNA), but not IL‐2 and interferon gamma (IFN‐γ). The pattern of messenger RNA expression in hepatic allograft infiltrates from animals pretreated with DST provides compelling evidence for the selective in vivo preservation of T‐helper (Th2)‐specific cytokines in the rat system. Our studies show that CD45RC leukocyte‐common antigen expression can define different populations of hepatic infiltrating CD4 + T cells. A persistent infiltration of CD45RC − CD4 + T cells, Th2‐like effector cells, is characteristic of hepatic allografts with a prolonged survival in DST‐pretreated rats.