Heart And Lung Transplantation The Patient's Part Of The Pathology And Immunopathology Research

Allograft lung rejection and pulmonary infection are two major complications in long-term survivors of combined heart-lung transplantation In present study, Leu-7 positive lymphocytes were examined with a method of immunoperoxidase stain in donor's and recipient's bronchial epithelial mucosa of four autopsied patients and two surviving cases who underwent the combined heart-lung transplantation; the expression of Class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigen in the bronchial epithelium above and below anastomosis in five surviving heart-lung transplant patients was examined; a change of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) was analysed in the donor's and recipient's bronchial epithelium of four autopsied patients with heart-lung transplantation; a histology of hilar lymph nodes was observed in ten autopsied transplant cases. The results showed that the number of Leu-7 positive lymphocytes in the donor's bronchial epithelium of the patients with pulmonary rejection was greater than that in the recipient's and in the controls' (P < 0.01). The expression of Class II MHC antigen was the same in the donor's and recipient's bronchial epithelium of the patients with or without pulmonary rejection. BALT in the donor's bronchial epithelium was demonstrated to be depleted in the heart-lung transplant patients with pulmonary rejection The hemorrhagic infarction of hilar lymph nodes was found in most of the patients with heart-lung transplantation in this group. Our results suggest:1 .The presence of Leu-7 positive lymphocytes ( > 5 cell/mm~3) in the donor's bronchial epithelium of the patients with heart-lung...