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(Circulation. 2000;102:2426.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
Basic Science Reports |
From the Surgical Research Laboratory, Harvard Medical School and the Department of Surgery, Brigham and Womens Hospital (M.J.W., J.P., M.K., N.L.T.); the Department of Medicine, Renal Division, Brigham and Womens Hospital (F.B., M.T.); and Millenium Inc, Cambridge, Mass, and Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School (W.W.H.), Boston, Mass. Dr Wilhelm is now at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Muenster, Germany.
Correspondence to Nicholas L. Tilney, MD, Surgical Research Laboratory, E-1, Room 142, Harvard Medical School, 260 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail bhayslett{at}rics.bwh.harvard.edu
| Abstract |
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Methods and ResultsFunctioning hearts were engrafted from normotensive donors after 6 hours of ventilatory support. Hearts from brain-dead rats (Fisher, F344) were rejected significantly earlier (mean±SD, 9.3±0.6 days) by their (Lewis) recipients than hearts from living donor controls (11.6±0.7 days, P=0.03). The inflammatory response of such organs was accelerated, with rapid expression of cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules and brisk infiltration of associated leukocyte populations. Upregulation of major histocompatibility class II antigens increased organ immunogenicity. Acute rejection evolved in hearts from brain-dead donors more intensely and at a significantly faster rate than in controls.
ConclusionsDonor brain death is deleterious to transplanted hearts. The resultant upregulation of inflammatory factors provokes host immune mechanisms and accelerates the acute rejection process in unmodified hosts.
Key Words: brain transplantation inflammation rejection
| Introduction |
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Little is known about the impact of donor BD on host responsiveness toward cardiac allografts. The present study compares the tempo and intensity of acute rejection of brain-dead donor and living donor (LD) hearts transplanted into untreated rat recipients. To reflect as much as possible the specific effects of BD on the donor heart before its removal and engraftment, a gradual-onset normotensive preparation was developed. This modulated associated peripheral injuries, such as the effects of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) secondary to circulatory deterioration and hypotension, which also activate proinflammatory mediators that potentially overlap with those from the central injury.9 10 11
| Methods |
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2 to 3 minutes, then
transplanted heterotopically to the recipient abdominal great vessels.
The total period of ischemia was
25 minutes. Animals were
handled in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of
Laboratory Animals published by the National Institutes of Health
and the guidelines of the Harvard Medical Area Standing Committee on
Animals.
Induction of BD
F344 rats were anesthetized with diethyl ether (J.T.
Baker). A PE50 catheter (Intramedic, Becton Dickinson Co) was inserted
into the left femoral artery and connected via a transducer (Gould
P23ID, Gould Inc) to a blood pressure monitor (Recorder 2200S,
Gould). An electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded via electrodes
on the cranium and the ear on a Grass EEG and Polygraph Data
Recording System (model 79D, Grass Instrument Co). The trachea
was incised and intubated with a No. 13 blunt-tipped cannula (Luer Stub
Adapter, Clay-Adams, Inc). A burr hole was drilled through the
dorsoparietal portion of the skull with an 18-gauge needle. A 3F
Fogarty catheter (Baxter Healthcare Corp) was inserted intracranially
and inflated over
5 minutes under continuous blood pressure and EEG
monitoring. The average balloon volume that consistently
abolished all EEG activity was 200±25 µL saline. With apnea, the
animal was connected to a rodent respirator (Harvard Rodent Ventilator,
model 683, Harvard Apparatus Inc) and ventilated at a rate
of 100 breaths per minute with a tidal volume of 2.0 mL over a period
of 6 hours. Intermittent adjustment of the volume of the Fogarty
balloon in
20-µL increments sustained normotension after the
initial period of hypertension. BD was validated by a flat-line EEG,
cessation of spontaneous respiration, and absence of brain stem
reflexes. Body temperature was maintained at >36°C with a heating
pad. Maintenance anesthesia was not used, because
it had previously been shown not to alter inflammatory changes in
peripheral organs.9 After 6 hours, the hearts
were removed and transplanted. Of 46 rats with BD, 9 (20%) were
excluded because of hypotension during the 6-hour follow-up period.
Sham-operated F344 rats (n=44) served as LD controls. After ether anesthesia, a femoral artery catheter was placed and a tracheotomy performed for mechanical ventilation. A burr hole was drilled, but no Fogarty catheter was inserted. Maintenance anesthesia with pentobarbital (Nembutal, Abbott Laboratories, 40 mg/kg) was administered as needed. After 6 hours, the hearts were engrafted.
Graft Survival Time
Hearts from brain-dead (n=16) and living control (n=14) donors
were transplanted into unmodified LEW recipients. The grafts were
palpated daily through the abdominal wall. The time of graft survival
was defined as the postoperative day on which all myocardial activity
ceased, as confirmed by laparotomy.
Histology and Immunohistology
Hearts from brain-dead and control donors were harvested after 6
hours to assess morphological, cellular, or molecular changes
developing by the time of transplantation (0 hours); after 6, 12, and
24 hours; and by 3 and 7 days (n=5 per group/time point).
Ventricular tissue was fixed in 10% buffered formalin, and
paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin.
Portions of each graft were snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored
at -80°C. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (Harlan Bioproducts for
Science) for immunohistology were directed against myofilament protein
(desmin), all rat leukocytes (CD45, OX-1), rat T cells (TCR-
, R73),
B cells (RLN-3D3), natural killer cells (CD161, 10/78), mononuclear
phagocytes (CD68, ED1), neutrophils (PMNs, RP3), and major
histocompatibility (MHC) class II antigens (OX-3). Additional
antibodies against the cytokines and chemokines
interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interferon-
(IFN-
), tumor necrosis
factor-
(TNF-
), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1),
macrophage inflammatory protein-1
(MIP-1
), RANTES,
intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion
molecule (VCAM-1), and control mAbs and secondary antibodies were
purchased from Pharmingen. Cryostat sections were fixed in
paraformaldehyde-lysine-periodate for staining of
cell-surface antigens or fixed in acetone for localization of
cytokines and stained by a peroxidase-antiperoxidase method as
described.12 Isotype-matched mAbs and controls for
residual endogenous peroxidase activity were included in
each experiment. Numbers of labeled cells in 20 consecutive high-power
fields (x40) were determined in 3 hearts per group per time point.
Expression of cytokines and chemokines within these fields is
reported on the basis of semiquantitative assessment.
Competitive Reverse TranscriptasePolymerase Chain
Reaction
Total RNA was extracted from snap-frozen samples of cardiac
tissue with RNAzol B solution (Tel-Test Inc).13 Reverse
transcription was carried out in a total volume of 20 µL containing 4
µg of RNA; 0.5 mmol/L each of dATP, dCTP, dGTP, and dTTP; 0.6
µg oligo-d(T)1218 (Pharmacia Biotech Inc); 40
U Rnasin (Promega); and 400 U M-MLV reverse transcriptase (Life
Technologies) in a buffer of 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 75
mmol/L KCl, 3 mmol/L MgCl2, and 10
mmol/L dithiothreitol. The solution was incubated for 60 minutes at
37°C, and then held at 95°C for 5 minutes to arrest the
reaction.
cDNA was used as substrate for competitive polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) with DNA mimics constructed with a PCR Mimic Construction Kit
(Clontech Laboratories Inc) for rat MCP-1, TNF-
, IL-1ß, and GAPDH.
Primer sets were designed on the basis of published cDNA sequences and
have previously been used in published studies.14 15 The
sequences of the primers, expected PCR product lengths, and
annealing temperatures are as follows: MCP-1, 5'-ATGCAGGTCTCTGTCACG-3'
and 5'-CTAGTTCTCTGTCA- TACT-3', 447 bp, 55°C; TNF-
,
5'-TACTGAACTTCGGGGTGA- TTGGTCC-3' and
5'-CAGCCTTGTCCCTTGAAGAGAACC-3', 295 bp, 60°C; IL-1ß,
5'-TGATGTTCCCATTAGACAGC-3' and 5'-GAGGTGCTGATGTACCAGTT-3', 378 bp,
55°C; and GAPDH, 5'-AATGCATCCTGCACCACCAA-3' and 5'-GTAGCCATATT-
CATTGTCATA-3', 516 bp, 55°C. An equal volume of each cDNA solution
was used for amplification in 20 µL of reaction mixture containing
competitive DNA mimic, 0.5 pmol primer sets, 0.5 U Taq DNA polymerase
(Pharmacia Biotech Inc), and 250 µmol/L each of dATP, dCTP,
dGTP, and dTTP (Pharmacia Biotech Inc) in a buffer of 10 mmol/L
Tris-HCl (pH 9.0) and optimal concentration of
MgCl2. PCR was performed with a Peltier Thermal
Cycler (MJ Research Inc).
Amplification was initiated with incubation at 94°C for 2 minutes,
followed by amplification cycles as follows: 94°C for 15 seconds,
annealing temperature for 30 seconds, 72°C for 1 minute. PCR
products (7 µL) were subjected to gel electrophoresis (5%
polyacrylamide), and DNA bands were visualized under
ultraviolet light after ethidium bromide staining. Densities of
competitive mimic and target DNA bands were measured by scanning
densitometry with ScanJet 4c (Hewlett-Packard) Adobe Photoshop software
(Adobe Inc). The ratios of the densities allowed absolute amounts of
RNA from unknown samples to be calculated and expressed as a ratio to
GAPDH internal control (Figure 1
). This
method is as accurate as scintillation counting of radiolabeled PCR
products.16 The cell products examined in these
studies (TNF-
, IL-1ß, MCP-1) were chosen as
representative of early inflammatory and immunological
host events, as shown in previous models of I/R injury and acute
allograft rejection.17 18
|
Statistical Analysis
Statistical significance relating to numbers of infiltrating cells
and expression of their products was assessed by the Mann-Whitney
U test. The results are expressed as mean±SEM and are
considered significant at a value of P<0.05. Graft survival
was expressed graphically via the Kaplan-Meier survival curve.
Statistical differences in survival were ascertained between the groups
by the log rank sum test.
| Results |
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Allograft Survival
Cardiac grafts from brain-dead donors underwent acute rejection by
their unmodified recipients at a significantly faster rate (mean±SD,
9.3±0.6 days) than those from LDs (11.6±0.9 days, P=0.03)
(Figure 2
).
|
Histology
No morphological changes were noted in any donor heart after 6
hours of ventilation. Although changes of acute irreversible cellular
rejection occurred ultimately in all allografts, the rate and intensity
of the process were strikingly different between the 2 donor groups.
Within the first 24 hours, neutrophils marginated in the
microvasculature and began to infiltrate the grafts from brain-dead
donors. The striking subendocardial necrosis and focal infarcts
associated with many infiltrating mononuclear cells noted at 3 days had
worsened appreciably by 7 days, with widespread myocardial necrosis and
dense leukocytic infiltrate. In contrast, relatively few cells
infiltrated the normal myocardium of LD grafts by 3 days,
becoming moderate in number by 7 days.
Immunohistology
No immunostaining of leukocytes or their
products was apparent in any donor heart before transplantation.
Within 6 hours after engraftment and reperfusion, however, infiltrating
neutrophils had peaked and a few mononuclear cells had already entered
the grafts from brain-dead donors. Expression of proinflammatory
mediators was evident (Figure 3
, Table
). By 3 days,
representative cytokines, chemokines (primarily
macrophage chemoattractants), and adhesion molecules had become
highly upregulated, associated with the dense mixed-leukocyte
infiltrate (Figure 4
). MHC class II
antigens were expressed. By 7 days, the macrophage and T-cell
infiltrate had become prominent, and expression of their associated
cytokines was further intensified. In contrast, control LD
hearts showed no immunohistological changes by 6 hours
and only mild mononuclear cell infiltration by 3 days (Table
).
After 7 days, as the acute rejection process evolved, invasion of these
grafts by a moderate mixed T-cell and macrophage infiltrate and
focal expression of their products had become evident.
|
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Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction
At the time of removal of the hearts for transplantation (0
hours), IL-1ß, TNF-
, and MCP-1 gene expression had become
marginally elevated in hearts from brain-dead donors. mRNA expression
of IL-1ß and TNF-
was significantly upregulated within 1 hour of
reperfusion, declining by 12 hours, then rising again after 3 days in a
biphasic pattern (Figure 5
). In contrast,
mRNA expression of IL-1ß and TNF-
remained at baseline in control
grafts before increasing progressively after 3 days, but always at
lower levels than in hearts from brain-dead animals. MCP-1 mRNA
expression increased significantly above pretransplant levels in all
grafts by 12 hours after reperfusion but was always significantly lower
than in hearts from BD donors. After a decline, this chemokine was
expressed in a biphasic fashion like that of the other cell
products, increasing again at 7 days in all grafts as immunological
rejection began to evolve.
|
| Discussion |
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unmodified LEW strain
combination was used in the present studies because the tempo of
acute rejection is somewhat more protracted than in rats with stronger
genetic differences, in which rejection occurs within
7 days and in
which detailed examination of the continuum between the initial
nonspecific donor-associated inflammatory changes and the development
of subsequent host alloresponsiveness to the grafts would be more
difficult to determine. Because no immunosuppression was used, the
findings cannot be directly related to clinical transplantation,
although parallel studies have shown that BD accelerates chronic
rejection over the long term in immunosuppressed rats (M.J.W.,
unpublished observations, 1999). The absence of morphological changes noted in the hearts within 6 hours after gradual-onset BD may be explained both by consistent hemodynamic stability of the animals and by the interval after injury. In contrast, obvious myocardial necrosis had evolved in hearts of hypotensive Chacma baboons 16 to 24 hours after BD.8 Ultrastructural changes in the hearts of a heterogeneous group of human brain-dead donors may also have resulted from initial hemodynamic instability and requirements for inotropic support.19 The functional and structural cardiac changes after explosive injury to the brain have been directly correlated with high catecholamine levels, particularly norepinephrine and neuropeptide Y.20 These factors may produce localized coronary vasospasm with insufficient blood flow for adequate myocardial perfusion, resulting in necrosis of the subendocardium of the left ventricle, petechial hemorrhage, contraction bands, and coagulative myocytolysis with a mononuclear cell infiltrate.4 8 21 Exhaustion of catecholamine stores after autonomic storm may be so profound that hypotension results. With gradual-onset BD, catecholamine levels remain relatively low and the heart is less affected.6 As in the present experiments, catecholamine depletion after autonomic storm may not be complete, and some stores may be preserved that maintain the blood pressure at normal levels over hours compared with the hypotension after explosive injury. Regardless of the pathogenesis, the striking subendocardial necrosis in BD donor hearts within 3 days after transplantation may have been triggered in part by ischemia secondary to catecholamine-induced coronary vasospasm, although measurement of catecholamine levels or inhibition of their activity with ß-adrenergic blockade, for instance, was outside the scope of the present studies.22 Alternative but unproven mechanisms for graft injury may include uncontrolled sympathetic activation without true I/R or upregulation of signal transduction in graft cells by other unrecognized means. Cytokine expression has been noted in the sera of rats after explosive BD.9 Although they were not detected in the present gradual-onset BD model (M.J.W., unpublished observations, 1999), such circulating factors in addition to catecholamines may influence peripheral injury after central destruction.
Proinflammatory mediators become upregulated in brain-dead donor hearts
in a pattern similar to that noted after I/R and presumably after other
nonspecific injuries as well.17 23 The few factors
examined in these studies were chosen as representative
of these processes and to support the hypothesis that BD induces
inflammation of peripheral organs. The presence of
"anti-inflammatory" cytokines, such as IL-4 and IL-10, was
not determined. Global warm ischemia and reperfusion of
isolated rat hearts rapidly increases TNF-
in the coronary
effluent and in the myocardium.24 25 When the
left anterior descending coronary artery is temporarily
occluded, TNF-
and IL-1ß gene expression peaks at 60 minutes after
resumption of the blood supply, a time course similar to their early
activation in brain-dead donor hearts after
transplantation.10 11 The effect of I/R on MCP-1
production in rat and dog cardiac ischemia models is
also comparable to that seen in the present studies.26
TNF-
and IL-1ß may contribute to the later elevation of MCP-1 gene
expression, as noted in experiments involving cultured
endothelial cells and cardiac myocytes.27
In the present studies, the difference in inflammatory activity
between brain-dead donor and LD hearts, including infiltration of
activated lymphocytes and macrophages and expression of
associated products, is quantitative (Figures 3
and 5
). This implies that the effects of donor BD are not unique but
may increase the sensibility of the grafts to a general inflammatory
response that follows a nonspecific injury such as I/R, the transplant
procedure itself, or other stimuli.23
The rapid and selective infiltration of PMNs into brain-dead donor
hearts does not occur in grafts from LDs, however, but parallels the
pattern in I/R injury, suggesting that this insult may be an important
component of the peripheral events after
BD.17 23 Both PMN-associated factors and those expressed
by vascular endothelium appear to trigger the
subsequent infiltration of mononuclear cells, which increase steadily
in number during the 7-day follow-up. Lymphocytes are attracted by the
early expression of MHC class II in the graft, which may have been
induced by IFN-
mediated in part by PMNs.28 In
addition, MHC class II plus PMNs can act as antigen-presenting
cells to T lymphocytes and regulate the induction of Th1 responses.
These activities may accelerate the tempo of host responsiveness
against the graft. In the present experiments, the rapid expression
of TNF-
, IL-1ß, and MCP-1 in BD donor hearts may also contribute
to the upregulation of the adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1
(Table
), causing leukocytes to infiltrate hearts from brain-dead
donors earlier and in greater density than control donor hearts. MCP-1
also seems to be important in the pathogenesis of myocardial
reperfusion injury by its ability to attract macrophages and
monocytes via induction of ICAM-1 expression in cardiac myocytes and
vascular smooth muscle cells.29
The second peak of gene expression of TNF-
and IL-1ß occurring
after
3 days in the transplanted hearts from brain-dead donors and
by
7 days in LD hearts was associated with increasing numbers of
infiltrating T lymphocytes and macrophages. These events were
interpreted as the beginning of acute immunological rejection. The
dynamics of this dramatic process has been described in detail in a
variety of models of acute allograft rejection.30 31
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
Received March 27, 2000; revision received May 12, 2000; accepted June 8, 2000.
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and IL-3. J Immunol. 1993;151:14821490.[Abstract]This article has been cited by other articles:
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