MECHANISM OF ACTION OF CYCLOSPORINE IN PREVENTING CARDIAC ALLOGRAFT REJECTION

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Abstract
The rate of entry of 3H-leucine-labeled lymphocytes was monitored in cyclosporine (CsA) treated or untreated rats that had received a cardiac allograft 5 days previously. In the untreated recipients there was a preferential localization of labeled cells in the graft heart compared with the native heart, which was evident within the first hour as well as at 3 and 24 hr after injection. In CsA-treated recipients, the rate and extent of entry of lymphocytes in the graft heart was not substantially different from the native heart. Fibrin deposition within allografts, thought to be a consequence of T cell activation, was substantially reduced by CsA treatment of the recipients. A double immunoenzyme staining technique was used to identify la-positive macrophages and la-positive T cells in cryostat sections of grafts: although the number of macrophages and T cells was reduced in CsA treated recipients, there was no difference in the extent to which these cells were la-positive.