Abstract:
Immunosuppressants are the cornerstones of treatment after solid organ transplantation.
This study investigated the pathology and cell proliferation following partial hepatectomy
(PH) in rats undergoing immunosuppressive treatment. After 1 day, all rats were subjected
to 70% PH. Groups A and B (n 10) received calcineurin inhibitors subcutaneously:
either FK506 or cyclosporine (CyA). Groups C and D (n 10) received antiproliferative
drugs: either mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) or sirolimus (SRL) by gavage. A control
group (n 5) received 1 mL of tap water daily. On postoperative day 2, all rats were
sacrificed to obtain liver tissue for pathologic examination. Using immunohistochemistry
we separately examined the hepatectomy surface and the liver parenchyma. In the
parenchyma, the Ki-67 indices were higher in the CyA and FK506 groups and lower in the
SRL and MMF groups compared with controls (P .01). CyA had the highest and MMF
the lowest values. On the hepatectomy surface, Ki-67 indices and TGF-alpha expressions
were higher in the CyA group and lower in the SRL and MMF groups compared with the
control group (P .01). Slightly higher values in the FK506 group were not significantly
different compared with the control group (P .05). All groups other than FK506
showed prominent cholangiolar epithelial phenotypes compared with the control group. In
the CyA and SRL groups, the number of cholangiolar cells was higher (P .01), and in
the MMF group lower than in the control group (P .01). Among all groups, SRL had the
highest values.
