Establishment of an acute rejection model of rat orthotopic liver transplantation

BACKGROUND: Some research indicates that the Wistar and Sprague Dawley rats belong to closed colony strains, rather than inbred strains, which not only has some hereditary stability but also genetic polymorphism. Thus, the Wistar to SD rat liver transplantation models may not be the ideal models to study the acute rejection of rat liver transplantation. OBJECTIVE: To establish an acute rejection model of Lewis-BN rat orthotopic liver transplantation. METHODS: The model was established by modified Kamada’s two-cuff technique. The rats were performed Lewis to Lewis or Lewis to BN rat liver transplantation. The pathological changes of transplanted livers were observed and levels of alaine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TBIL) were detected at 3, 5 and 7 days after transplantation. The survival time of rats was determined. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There was no rejection in isogene group from Lewis to Lewis rat, and the average survival time was over 100 days. Liver function was mildly impaired. Conversely, the average survival time was (12.75±1.25) days in the allogene group. The pathological examination showed a typical acute rejection at 7 days. Liver function was severely impaired. At the same time point after the operation, levels of ALT and TBIL in the allogene group were significantly higher than those of the isogene group (P < 0.05). The results indicate that, Lewis to BN rat combination is a stable acute rejection model of rat liver transplantation, but there may be technical difficulties due to its poor tolerance. The sophisticated microsurgical technique and the delicate surgical manipulation is the key to achieve success.