Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection accelerates transplant vascular sclerosis (TVS) and chronic rejection (CR) in both human and animal solid organ transplantation models. The host/viral mechanisms involved in this process are unclear. We examine the role of the rat CMV (RCMV)-encoded chemokine-receptor R33 in the development of TVS using a rat heart transplantation/CR model. F344 heart grafts were transplanted heterotopically into Lewis recipients. The ability of RCMV lacking the R33 gene (RCMV-Δr33) to accelerate CR/TVS (neointimal index, NI) was compared to wild-type (WT) RCMV. Allograft recipients were infected with 1 × 105 pfu RCMV or RCMV-Δr33 on postoperative day (POD) 1. Grafts from RCWV-Δr33-infected recipients demonstrated an accelerated time to allograft CR compared to grafts from uninfected recipients (POD = 56 vs. 90), this was slower than that seen in grafts from WT-RCMV-infected recipients (POD = 45). Similarly, the degree of graft TVS formation at terminal rejection in RMCV-Δr33 infected recipients was more severe than uninfected recipients (NI = 63 vs. 45), yet not as severe as in WT-RCMV infected recipients (NI = 83). In parallel, RCMV-Δr33 failed to induce vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration in vitro, whereas WT-RCMV induced substantial migration. The RCMV-encoded chemokine-recepfor r33 is critical for RCMV-accelerated TVS/CR and vascular SMC migration.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 436-442 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | American Journal of Transplantation |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2005 |
Keywords
- Chemokine receptor
- Cytomegalovirus
- Transplant vascular sclerosis (TVS)
- Transplant vasculopathy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Transplantation
- Pharmacology (medical)