Multiglycosidorum tripterygii versus Tacrolimus for rat tracheal allografts.

OBJECTIVE Several other immunosuppressive agents still need to be found for rejection as alternatives to Tacrolimus in lung transplantation. We tried to elucidate the treatment effect of Multiglycosidorum tripterygii on tracheal allografts in comparison to that of Tacrolimus. METHODS Treatment effect of agents on tracheal allografts, undergoing incomplete immunosuppression for 12 weeks after transplantation, was investigated using a heterotopic rat tracheal transplantation model. Treatments with Tacrolimus (1.0 or 1.5mg/kg per day), Multiglycosidorum tripterygii (150 or 225mg/kg per day) and a combination of Tacrolimus (1.0mg/kg per day) and Multiglycosidorum tripterygii (150mg/kg per day) were applied as a therapy for allografts. Four weeks after administering this therapy, the effect of each treatment was investigated by the morphologic assessment of transplants. RESULTS Treatment group with high doses of Multiglycosidorum tripterygii demonstrated a significantly better graft patency and lower cartilage dislocation than that without any treatment and tended to show better morphological findings than the other treatment groups, in addition to being safe. Some of allografts with high doses of Tacrolimus or Multiglycosidorum tripterygii therapy had a viable epithelium and viable tracheal glands in part, whereas the allografts with other treatments showed almost a completely denuded epithelium. High doses of Multiglycosidorum tripterygii therapy demonstrated less infiltration of mononuclear cells into the allografts, whereas other therapies showed a higher infiltration of such cells. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that high doses of Multiglycosidorum tripterygii may be a useful alternative to Tacrolimus as an immunosuppressant for rat tracheal allografts.