Functional Adaptation of the Small-Intestinal Mucosa After Experimental Small-Bowel Transplantation: A Quantitative Histochemical Study

Abstract

In studies conducted in recent years, Deltz and his coworkers have shown (Thiede and Deltz 1978; Deltz et al. 1981; Deltz 1984) that, after allogeneic small- intestinal transplantation, both graft rejection and graft-vs-host reaction are dependent on the histoincompatibility grade, graft length, and the amount of lymphatic tissue grafted. In syngeneic transplantation, however, it was not possible to detect histologic alterations of the mucosal architecture in the small bowel of either the graft or the recipient. Since these studies did not show major alterations in villus size, and since it is well known that villus height is a representative parameter of nonelectrolyte transport, it is conceivable that syngeneic transplantation does not alter either the structure or function of the small intestine.