[Specific and nonspecific effects of blood transfusion on heart graft survival in the rat]

We investigated the role of various blood-transfusions regimens including donor specific and third-party blood transfusions in rat heart transplantations. One ml donor blood (BN; RT1n) given to the recipients (Lew, RT1(1)) of (Lew.BN)F1 rats 7 days prior to grafting prolonged heart survival (24 +/- 8 vs 9.9 +/- 2.7 in control). Heart graft survival was much less when donor blood was given to recipients 1 month before grafting. There was no complementary effect between BT from donor and from third party blood or vice-versa. In addition, although donor blood prolonged graft survival (19.7 +/- 7.5 vs 9.9 +/- 2.7) when given the day of surgery, post surgery sequential BT from the donor (day 0-3-7 and 14 after transplantation) did not further increased survival (14 +/- 4.6). The effect of donor-BT was RT1a specific since third-party blood (1 ml) was ineffective (9.5 +/- 1) whereas 1 ml of congenic RT1n rat (Lew. 1 N) blood increases heart survival: 14 +/- 2.14 vs 9.9 +/- 2.2 in control animals. Although only 1 ml of donor blood enhanced specifically the heart allografts of the corresponding RT1 phenotype, weekly repeated third-party BT (n = 8) did also prolong graft survival (13.7 +/- 3.4) suggesting that aside from classical and powerful model of active RT1 specific effect of BT, a nonspecific, dose-related mechanism can occur.