Right lung transplantation followed by left pneumonectomy in the rat.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a rodent lung transplant model which depends on graft function for survival, total microsutureless lung transplantation was carried out and followed by contralateral native pneumonectomy in the rat.

METHODS

Total non-microsuture right lung transplantation was undertaken using a cuff technique with anastomotic areas twice as big as those for the left lung transplantation. Inbred rats received either right (n = 10) or left lung isograft (n = 10) with non-microsuture techniques and underwent contralateral native pneumonectomy 2 weeks later to test the function of the grafted lung.

RESULTS

While none of the left lung recipients could be disconnected from the respirator after right pneumonectomy, eight of ten right lung recipients tolerated left pneumonectomy, increased body weight and regained exercise capacity (oxygen uptake 49 +/- 4 ml/kg per min) comparable to that of control rats undergoing right hilar stripping and left pneumonectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that the grafted right lung, but not the left lung, allows survival, growth and exercise of the recipient. Right lung transplantation followed by native left pneumonectomy may serve as a physiologic model of lung transplantation in the rat.