[Effects of cyclosporine and blood transfusion on cardiac xenografts in combination of rat and mouse].

Transplant surgeons have been interested in the transplantation of vasculized organ xenografts. We studied the effects of Cyclosporine and blood transfusion on rat heart xenografts in mice and in reverse combination. B6AF1 mouse recipients were transfused with C3D2F1 mouse blood, presenting H-2k/d antigen and with B10.BR mouse blood transfusion, presenting H-2D and H-9 antigen to recipients. All rejected on day 5 in control group and C3D2F1 group. Prolongation of xenograft survival occurred with MST (Mean Survival Time) of 7.0 +/- 1.7 days (p less than 0.01), when primed by B10.BR blood transfusion. The survival time (MST = 14.4 +/- 3.2 days (p less than 0.001) of rat heart xenografts was prolonged in mice recipients treated with i.m. injection of 20 mg/kg/day of Cyclosporine for 14 days (short term). When B6AF1 mouse hearts were grafted into Lewis rats, however, no significant prolongation of graft survival occurred in any of Cyclosporine-treated rats. Cyclosporine did not prove to beneficial in this combination because of rat natural antibodies or species-specific barriers to mouse.