Abstract:Objective:To study the effect of combined immune therapy with anti-CD40L mAb and low-dose cyclosporine (CsA) on the liver graft survival in rats, and Th1/Th2 cytokine profile.
Methods:Recipientswere divided into the following groups. Group A: SD→SD rats, Group B: SD→Wistar rats without any treatment, Group C: SD→Wistar rats with CsA monotherapy from d1 to d5, Group D: SD→Wistar rats with CsA from d1 to d5 and anti-CD40L mAb in d0 and d2. The recipient survival and liver graft pathology observed. On post-transplant d7 ELISA technique was used to detect the level of cytokines in peripheral blood.
Results:The survival period of recipients in Group A and D was significantly longer than that in Group B and C. Mild to severe acute rejection reactions were observed in liver specimens from Group B and C while the degree of tissue injury in specimens from Group D was decreased signiflcantly. The serum levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ in Group B were significantly higher than those in other groups. On the contrary, the serum level of IL-4 and IL-10 in Group D was elevated much more than that in Group B(P<0.05).
Conclusions:The combined immune therapy can prolong graft survival and effectively suppress acute rejection in ROLT. High expression of Th2 cytokines is beneficial to long-term survival of recipients and graft