|
Objective: To examine the expression of Sry gene in neointimal smooth muscle cells, detect its origin in rat aortic allograft following transplantation. Methods:Sex-mismatched bone marrow transplantation was performed from male Wistar rats to female Wistar rats, and the chimeric rat were prepared. Four weeks later, the rat aortic transplantation model was constituted by means of micro-surgery. The recipients were divided into four groups: male-male aortic isograft group, male-male aortic allograft group, female-chimera aortic allograft group and female-female aortic allograft group. Eight weeks after transplantation, aortic grafts were removed and processed. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical staining was carried out in aortic sections. α-SMA-positive neointimal cells were harvested from cryostat sections of aortic allograft by microdissection method, and the Sry gene was amplified from the cell DNA by PCR. Results:In all aortic allografts, but not aortic isografts, α-SMA-positive smooth muscle cells were proliferated and accumulated excessively, which resulted in significant neointimal formation and vascular lumen narrowing in aortic grafts. Neointima quantitative assay revealed that the neointimal area and neointimal area/medial area ratio of grafted aorta were significantly higher in all of aortic allograft groups than that of the aortic isograft group (P<0.01), and there was no significant difference between aortic allograft groups (P>0.05). PCR amplification assay indicated that the expression of Sry gene was positive in neointimal smooth muscle cells of aortic allografts in female-chimera and male-male aortic allograft groups respectively, but not in the female-female aortic allograft group. Conclusions:As a source of neointimal smooth muscle cells, recipient bone marrow derived-cells participate in the pathological neointimal hyperplasia and allograft arteriosclerosis in rat. Recipient bone marrow-derived cells may be interesting therapeutic targets for chronic allograft vasculopathy. |
|
Keywords:Transplantation; arteriosclerosis; smooth muscle cells; bone marrow cells |
|