Value of mucosal biopsies in the monitoring of acute small bowel rejection

Abstract

The value of mucosal biopsies in evaluating small bowel rejection is controversial. In this study, the value of mucosal biopsies was estimated in unmodified porcine small bowel rejection. Ten animals received the distal half of the small bowel as a heterotopic loop (ThiryVella loop). The allografts were followed by proximally and distally harvested full-thickness and mucosal biopsies every other day, starting from the 3rd day and continuing until the grafts became necrotic. The histological parameters in both types of biopsies were semiquantitatively scored from 0 to 3 and compared with each other. The difference in mean values on subsequent days was not remarkable, the results favoring slightly higher values in full-thickness than in mucosal biopsies. Our results suggest that multiple mucosal biopsies are adequate in monitoring morphological changes of small bowel grafts during rejection and that the proximal and distal ileum are similarly affected by acute rejection.

Laser‐Doppler flowmetry is reliable for early diagnosis of small‐bowel acute rejection in the mouse

“…3 To overcome these problems, multiple biopsies from different parts of the small bowel are necessary. 4 The mechanisms involved in intestinal rejection are not fully understood. Studies suggest that during acute rejection (AR), vascular endothelial cells in the lamina propria are targeted, resulting in impairment of graft mucosal perfusion.…”