Chronic lung allograft pathology lesions in two rat strain combinations

Background: Chronic lung allograft dysfunction remains an obstacle to long-term survival after lung transplantation. Two phenotypes have been described: Obliterative bronchiolitis and restrictive allograft syndrome. Preclinical models are essential to analyze chronic lung allograft dysfunction pathophysiology. Methods: Orthotopic lung transplants from 38 Lewis into Fischer 344 (Lew→F344) and 67 Brown- Norway into Lewis (BN→Lew) rats were performed in our center in the last decade. We carefully reviewed and quantified all grafts with chronic rejection (40 cases) (18 Lew→F344, 22 BN→Lew) with the aim to investigate if histological changes of chronic lung allograft dysfunction could be also detected in rat grafts. Results: All animals showed human reminiscent histological lesions. Early chronic rejection lesions were detected in BN→Lew. End-stage chronic rejection with features of obliterative bronchiolitis was observed in 33% of Lew→F344; end-stage with restrictive allograft syndrome chr...