Ephedra sinica in preventing hyperacute rejection in guinea pig-to-rat cardiac xenotransplantation / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To study Ephedra sinica in preventing hyperacute rejection in guinea pig-to-rat cardiac xenotransplantation. Methods The recipient rats were divided into two groups control group and experiment group, according to whether administrated complement inhibiting component (CIC) from Ephedra sinica. In 15 min after operation, 4 rats from control group and 4 from experiment group were sacrificed to detect the pathologic changes in cardiac tissues. The complement parameters including CH_(50), APH_(50), and C_(3) were determined during the period of 0, 10, 15, 30, 45 min in serial serum. Results The survival time was significantly prolonged and pathological changes were less in experiment group than that in control group. Conclusion The study reveals that both classical pathway and alternative pathway of complement activation can be induced by xenotransplantation and Ephedra sinica can prolong the xenograft time by inhibiting complement activities and postposing hyperacute rejection.