Pathogenetic Studies of Cardiac Allograft Rejection Using Inbred Rat Models

Applying established genetic data for selection of the appropriate donor-recipient strain combinations, the authors have carried out a series of comparative morphologic studies of the pathogenesis of humoral-mediated hyperacute rejection and of acute cellular rejection in the inbred rat cardiac model. These studies, using inbred rat cardiac models in the appropriate strain combinations, have demonstrated the usefulness of systematic comparative morphologic analysis in the elucidation of the pathogenesis of organ allograft rejection. Such investigations provide significant additional insight into the nature of these complex and varied forms of lethal organ injury.