Ms. Rahman et al., LONG-TERM RESULTS OF SHORT SEGMENTAL SYNGENEIC SMALL-INTESTINAL TRANSPLANTATION - COMPARISON OF JEJUNAL AND ILEAL GRAFTS, Journal of pediatric surgery, 31(7), 1996, pp. 908-911
A short-segment intestinal graft is favorable to reduce the rate of re
jection and the incidence of graft-versus-host disease in recipients o
f small intestine transplantation. To determine whether a jejunal or a
n ileal graft is preferable with respect to intestinal morphology and
function, syngeneic two-step small intestinal transplantations were pe
rformed using male Lewis rats (RT1(1)). They were divided into two gro
ups according to the small intestine donor site (group 1 received 10 c
m of jejunum; group 2 received 10 cm of ileum). There was no significa
nt difference in the survival rate or weight gain between the two grou
ps. Nearly all the hematologic findings, serum nutritional parameters,
and results of liver function tests were normal for both groups. The
only difference was that the serum total bile acid level was significa
ntly higher in group 2. Fifty weeks after transplantation, the graft m
ucosa showed normal architecture, with adaptive hyperplasia of villi a
nd crypt noted through histological study. The villus height of group
1 was 595 +/- 64 mu m (control, 452 +/- 67 mu m); that of group 2 was
732 +/- 53 mu m (control, 217 +/- 20 mu m). The crypt depth of group 1
was 228 +/- 35 mu m (control, 165 +/- 24 mu m); that of group 2 was 3
20 +/- 19 mu m (control, 102 +/- 19 mu m). These compensatory changes
were more pronounced in group 2. The authors conclude that, on the bas
is of long-term functional capacity, there was no significant differen
ce between jejunal and ileal grafts, and that both segments were suita
ble for transplantation. However, the ileal graft was considered to be
better with respect to morphological adaptation. Copyright (C) 1996 b
y W.B. Saunders Company