EXPERIMENTAL RAT PANCREAS TRANSPLANT - SURGICAL TECHNIQUE AND IMMUNOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Vascularized whole pancreas transplantation in the rat was performed o n the abdomen using a cuff technique for vascular anastomoses. Two dif ferent exocrine drainage procedures, either intestinal or ureter drain age, were used. In the isograft transplant models, hyperglycemia was a meliorated immediately after transplantation and all of the grafts fun ctioned during the observation period. In the allograft transplant mod els without immunosuppression, graft rejection, as defined by recurren ce of hyperglycemia (blood glucose > 200 mg/dl) occurred 6-9 days post -transplant. Allograft rejection could be delayed approximately 1 mont h after transplant with short-term use of FK506. These different model s, using either intestinal or ureter exocrine drainage, are similar to dominant clinical pancreas transplantation with enteric exocrine drai nage or urinary tract drainage, respectively. It is thus concluded tha t whole pancreas transplant with either intestinal or ureter exocrine drainage is an ideal model for physiological and immunological experim ental studies in pancreas transplantation.