Rat pancreas allotransplantation: a short term comparison of rejection patterns with different methods of exocrine drainage.

Pancreas transplantation has been performed in the rat to study the effect on rejection of duct ligation, duct obliteration and duct open intraperitoneal drainage. On day six, an acceleration of graft damage was seen in the duct ligated and obliterated allografts compared to the duct open group. However, by day 11, rejection was complete in all three groups. In comparison with pancreatic isografts, the histological diagnosis of rejection can be difficult to define, particularly in the duct ligated and obliterated groups. The most useful criterion was the localisation of the cellular infiltrate to the walls of small veins and within the islet of Langerhans.