IMMUNOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT OF PRIMARILY VASCULARIZED RAT HEART XENOTRANSPLANTS IN MICE

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Abstract
SUMMARY Infant rat hearts from donors weighing approximately 50 g were transplanted to the abdomens of adult mice by primary vascular union. All transplants began to beat within a few minutes after the vascular occluding ties were released, permitting perfusion of the coronary vessels with mouse arterial blood. Rejection of the xenotransplant, as determined by an abrupt decline or cessation of a palpable impulse, occurred between 4 and 5 days in all animals that received no immunosuppression. The administration of mouse antirat serum (eytotoxie titer 1:256) within the first few hours after transplantation resulted in hyperacute rejection of the rat heart as judged by a rapid cessation of the heartbeat. However, as the dilution of heteroantiserum administered to the mouse was progressively increased, a greater percentage of heart grafts in each group did not reject in a hyperacute fashion, and in fact their survival was prolonged. At a dilution of the original heteroantiserum of 1:32, only 2 of 11 rat hearts were hyperacutely rejected, while 9 hearts survived twice as long as grafts in the group that did not receive heteroantiserum. It is suggested that the enhancing ability of heteroantiserum occurs only when its destructive components are in too low a concentration to produce hyperacute rejection.

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