Methylprednisolone prevents rejection of intrastriatal grafts of xenogeneic embryonic neural tissue in adult rats

• We studied the effects of high-dose methylprednisolone on the survival of intrastriatal neural xenografts and the host responses against them. Dissociated mesencephalic tissue from inbred mouse (CBA-strain) embryos was transplanted to the intact striatum of adult Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats received either daily injections of methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg), or cyclosporin A (10 mg/kg), or no immunosuppressive treatment. Two or six weeks after transplantation, there was good survival of xenografts in both the methylprednisolone- and cyclosporin A-treated rats. In contrast, the xenografts in untreated control rats were all rejected by six weeks. There was no marked difference in the degree of expression of MHC class I and II antigens and the accumulation of activated astrocytes and microglial cells/macrophages between the three groups. However, both methylprednisolone and cyclosporin A reduced infiltration of T lymphocytes to the transplantation sites. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6) in and around the grafts was lower in the methylprednisolone- and cyclosporin A-treated groups than in untreated control rats. Although high-dose methylprednisolone caused significant body weight loss, we conclude that this treatment can prevent rejection of intrastriatal grafts of xenogeneic embryonic neural tissue in the adult.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Neurovetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Neurosciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Animals

Brain Chemistry

Brain Tissue Transplantation

CD4-CD8 Ratio

Cytokines

Female

Fetal Tissue Transplantation

Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein

Graft Rejection

Graft Survival

Immunohistochemistry

Immunosuppressive Agents

Major Histocompatibility Complex

Methylprednisolone

Mice

Neostriatum

Pregnancy

Rats

Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Receptors, Complement

Transplantation, Heterologous

Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)