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Heterotopic heart transplant in the cat

An experimental model for the study of the development of sympathetic denervation and of allograft rejection

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Summary

A technique for the heterotopic heart transplant into the abdominal cavity of the cat has been developed as an experimental model for studies of the development of sympathetic denervation and of allograft rejection. Under our experimental conditions and in the absence of immunosuppressive treatment the survival rate of the transplant was higher than that reported for dogs. Immediately after the operation the cardiac rate of the transplanted heart was reduced from 153±9 (n=36) to 131±9 beats/min (n=36). After the third postoperative day the rate of the graft increased steadily, reaching 185±8 beats/min (n=15) on the seventh day. The endogenous noradrenaline (NA) content in the right atrium was completely depleted 3 days after the operation (controls 2.07±0.45 μg NA/g; transplants 0.09±0.04 μg NA/g). In the ventricles a similar degree of depletion was obtained on the seventh postoperative day (controls 1.69±0.25 μg NA/g; transplants 0.06±0.02 μg NA/g). “In vitro” studies of strips of left atria revealed supersensitivity to the inotropic effect of (−)-noradrenaline 7 days after the surgical procedures. On the 7th day maximal responses of the atria to (−)-noradrenaline were significantly lower than those of the corresponding controls. There was no increase in sensitivity to (−)-isoprenaline 7 days after the operation. The results obtained demonstrate that the transplanted heart undergoes sympathetic denervation and develops supersensitivity to noradrenaline. The latter appears to be the reason for the tachycardia which develops between the third and the seventh day after the operation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones Farmacológicas Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    M. L. Osorio, F. J. E. Stefano & S. Z. Langer

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  1. M. L. Osorio
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  2. F. J. E. Stefano
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  3. S. Z. Langer
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Osorio, M.L., Stefano, F.J.E. & Langer, S.Z. Heterotopic heart transplant in the cat. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 283, 389–407 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00501112

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