Effect of Donor Bone Marrow Transplantation on Canine Renal Allotransplants

抄録

An attempt was made to inhibit the rejection of renal allotransplants by use of the donor bone marrow.
The survival time of untreated control dogs averaged 9.0±1.1 (S. D.) days, ranging from 7 to 10 days. Some prolongation of survival was achieved when azathioprine was given by mouth in a dose of 5 mg per kg per day for a week before and after renal transplantation and then 3 mg of the agent per kg per day. This group showed a mean survival of 17.5±5.2 days. All the transplanted kidneys showed typical features of allograft rejection. The survival time of the dogs given the donor bone marrow alone once before transplantation averaged 5.4±3.1 days, ranging from 4 to 7 days. On the other hand, the survival time of dogs which received azathioprine and allotransplantation of the donor bone marrow averaged 28.9±6.4 days, and that of the dogs which received azathioprine and allotransplantation of the non-donor bone marrow averaged 14.9±5.1 days. When the recipients were injected repeatedly with the donor bone marrow after transplantation, the mean survival time was prolonged to 37.0±5.3 days. Bone marrow was labeled in vitro with ³H-thymidine to trace the cells after injection into recipients; the presence of labeled band and segmented forms showed that injected cells were capable of both mitosis and maturation. By reaction of rabbit antiserum to canine erythrocytes, the life span of erythrocytes originating from the infused bone marrow cells in the peripheral blood of recipients was estimated, and it was shown that the survival time of kidney grafts was parallel to that of donor bone marrow. The effectiveness of the treatment with donor bone marrow combined with azathioprine as a conditioning agent was demonstrated on canine renal allografts.