Amy Molnar
EurekAlert
A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that cigarette smoke exposure, in a cause-effect manner, results in graft rejection that would have been prevented by certain drug treatments.
Led by Zhenhua Dai, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center, researchers used mouse transplant models to investigate the impact of second hand smoke (SHS) on transplant survival and its mechanism of action.
Seven to eight mice per group were exposed to SHS and treated with or without immunoregulatory agents. They were exposed to SHS 4 weeks before they were transplanted with islets under the kidney capsule. SHS was terminated once islet allografts were rejected. Recipient mice were untreated or exposed to SHS. The analysis of graft survival was performed using log-rank tests.
Read More: Secondhand smoke results in graft rejection
Cartoon by Bob Moran
