The objective of the following study was to evaluate antigenicity, malacia and revascularization in glycerin-preserved canine tracheal allografts. Trachea with six cartilage rings (2.4 to 3.1 cm) were distributed in three study groups: autograft (21), allograft (18) and glycerin-preserved (22). We implanted two segments from different groups in the greater omentum of dogs. After 28 days, latex was injected in the canine aorta before the segments were harvested. We evaluated number of sectors with functional vessels, number of vessels dyed in the submucosa, acute arteritis score, incidence of acute rejection, cartilage lesion score, and malacia. The autograft group had a larger number of dyed vessels than the glycerin-preserved group. The autograft group also had a higher average number of quadrants with functional vessels than the allograft group and the glycerin-preserved group. The allograft group had a higher mean score for acute arteritis than the autograft group and more acute rejection than the glycerin-preserved group. The cartilage lesion score did not show any significant difference between groups. Malacia was not observed in any tracheal segment. Overall, the glycerin-preserved tracheal implant had low antigenicity and good rigidity, but showed incomplete revascularization.
An effective preservation method and decreased rejection are essential for tracheal transplantation in the reconstruction of large airway defects. Our objective in the present study was to evaluate the antigenic properties of glycerin-preserved tracheal segments. Sixty-one tracheal segments (2.4 to 3.1 cm) were divided into three groups: autograft (N = 21), fresh allograft (N = 18) and glycerin-preserved allograft (N = 22). Two segments from different groups were implanted into the greater omentum of dogs (N = 31). After 28 days, the segments were harvested and analyzed for mononuclear infiltration score and for the presence of respiratory epithelium. The fresh allograft group presented the highest score for mononuclear infiltration (1.78 ± 0.43, P ≤ 0.001) when compared to the autograft and glycerinpreserved allograft groups. In contrast to the regenerated epithelium observed in autograft segments, all fresh allografts and glycerinpreserved allografts had desquamation of the respiratory mucosa. The low antigenicity observed in glycerin segments was probably the result of denudation of the respiratory epithelium and perhaps due to the decrease of major histocompatibility complex class II antigens.
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