A porcine model of orthotopic left lung transplantation

Objective To establish a porcine allogeneic left lung orthotopic transplantation model to closely simulate human lung transplantation. Methods Twelve Huanjiang mini-pigs were used as donors and 12 Bama mini-pigs as recipients. The left lung orthotopic transplantation was completed by the left fourth intercostal thoracotomy. At 1 h,2 h,4h,6 h,12 h after transplantation,the left and right pulmonary artery pressure were measured,the left and right pulmonary vein blood gas was analyzed,and samples of the left and right lung tissues were taken to determine the water content and for pathological examination. Results All animals survived,and the transplanted pulmonary vein blood Pa O2/ Fi O2 and PAP were rised along with the prolonged postoperative time,compared with those of the recipient normal lung showing a significant difference( P 0. 05). With the pass of time,there were increasing edema,inflammatory cell infiltration,RBC ooze,thickening of alveolar wall in the transplanted lung tissue,and some alveolar lumen occlusion and lung tissue consolidation.The water content of the transplanted lung tissue was increased significantly compared with that in the recipient lung tissue( P 0. 05). Conclusions The established method in this study provides an ideal animal model for research on lung transplantation ischemia-reperfusion injury and immune rejection mechanism.