Murine Heart Transplantation and Graft Arterial Disease

Although more than 116,000 heart transplantations have been performed worldwide to date, graft arterial disease (GAD), which is a phenomenon of chronic rejection, is still a serious problem. Because GAD involves entire allograft arteries, angioplasty and bypass grafting are not practical treatment options. Therefore, GAD is the biggest long-term limitation in cardiac allograft recipients. Because the cause of GAD is mostly immunologic, several cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules play a critical role in the process. Although there has been no established clinical strategy for preventing or treating GAD, recent investigations have proved some promising methodologies. In this article, we described a protocol of murine cardiac transplantation and pathological characteristics of GAD.