肌腱蛋白-C在肝移植术后早期急性排斥反应中的作用

目的  探讨肌腱蛋白-C（TNC）与肝移植术后早期急性排斥反应（AR）的关系。方法  将6只Brown Norway（BN）大鼠和16只Lewis大鼠分为AR组（Lewis→BN，供、受体各6只）和对照组（Lewis→Lewis，供、受体各5只）。对两组大鼠移植肝组织进行病理学检查，采用Banff分级评估排斥活动指数（RAI）；采用免疫组织化学（免疫组化）染色、蛋白质印迹法检测两组大鼠移植肝TNC蛋白表达情况；采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测血清TNC表达水平，并分析其与RAI评分的相关性。结果  大鼠肝移植术后7 d移植肝病理学结果显示AR组RAI评分高于对照组；免疫组化结果显示术后7 d AR组移植肝TNC阳性细胞分布多于对照组；蛋白质印迹法结果显示术后7 d AR组移植肝TNC蛋白相对表达量高于对照组（t=5.112，P=0.007）；ELISA结果显示术后7 d AR组血清TNC表达水平高于对照组（t=3.152，P=0.012），且血清TNC表达水平与RAI评分呈正相关（r=0.790 9，P=0.004）。结论  肝移植术后TNC表达水平与AR相关，TNC有可能成为临床肝移植术后早期AR诊断和治疗的新靶点。

Role of tenascin-C in acute rejection early after liver transplantation

Objective To investigate the relationship between tenascin-C (TNC) and acute rejection (AR) early after liver transplantation. Methods Six Brown Norway (BN) rats and 16 Lewis rats were divided into the AR group (Lewis→BN, 6 donors and 6 recipients) and control group (Lewis→Lewis, 5 donors and 5 recipients). The transplant liver tissues from rats in two groups were subjected to pathological examination. The rejection activity index (RAI) was evaluated by Banff schema. The expression of TNC proteins in the transplant liver tissues were determined by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot. The expression level of serum TNC was detected by enzyme-linked immune absorbent assay (ELISA), and the correlation between TNC and RAI score was analyzed. Results Pathological examination of the transplant liver at 7 d after liver transplantation showed that the RAI score in the AR group was higher than that in the control group. Immunohistochemical staining results found that the distribution of TNC positive cells of the transplant liver in the AR group was more than that in control group at postoperative 7 d. Western blot showed that the relative expression level of TNC protein in the AR group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 7 d after liver transplantation (t=5.112, P=0.007). ELISA results revealed that the serum TNC expression level in the AR group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 7 d after liver transplantation (t=3.152, P=0.012). The serum TNC expression level was positively correlated with the RAI score (r=0.790 9, P=0.004). Conclusions The expression level of TNC is associated with AR after liver transplantation. TNC may become a novel target for diagnosis and treatment of AR early after liver transplantation.