STAT-1 decoy oligonucleotide improves microcirculation and reduces acute rejection in allogeneic rat small bowel transplants.

During acute rejection leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction fuelled by costimulatory molecules such as the CD40/CD154 receptor/ligand dyad disrupts microcirculation of the small bowel. Downregulating endothelial CD40 expression by employing a decoy oligonucleotide (dODN) neutralizing the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT-1) may protect the graft. Therefore allogenic small bowel transplantation was performed in the Brown Norway to Lewis rat model. Graft vessels were pretreated with STAT-1 dODN, mutant control ODN (20 microM) or vehicle (n=8). CD40 antisense ODN and scrambled control ODN-treated transplants served as target control (n=3 each). Intravital microscopy, histology, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses were performed 7 days later. Functional capillary density, red blood cell velocity and perfusion index in STAT-1 dODN and CD40 antisense ODN-treated transplants were improved whereas stasis index was reduced. Leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction showed no difference. Histological parameters of rejection, infiltrating CD3-positive cells and apoptotic bodies were also reduced in STAT-1 dODN and CD40 antisense ODN-treated transplants 7 days post-transplantation. CD40 protein abundance was reduced to less than 10% of control in STAT-1 dODN-treated grafts. STAT-1 dODN blockade of CD40 expression improves mucosal perfusion, reduces graft rejection, T-cell infiltration and apoptosis in rat small bowel allografts during acute rejection.