Canine unilateral lung transplantation: effect of ciclosporin A on the frequency of donor-lytic lymphocytes.

Limiting dilution analysis showed that the frequency of precursor donor-lytic cytolytic lymphocytes increased dramatically within the leucocyte population recovered by broncho-alveolar lavage in dogs after unilateral lung transplantation. The increases for animals experiencing acute pulmonary rejection (11.5-24.8 times pre-operative level) and for those receiving long-term ciclosporin A therapy (5.4-17.6 times pre-operative level) were similar. Therefore, it appears that ciclosporin A does not prevent the sequestration of precursor donor-lytic cytotoxic cells within lung allograft tissue.