Renal Allograft Survival in Outbred Mongrel Dogs Using Rabbit Anti‐Dog Thymocyte Serum in Combination With Immunosuppressive Drug Therapy With or Without Donor Bone Marrow

Abstract

Therapeutic renal transplantation in dogs is currently being investigated as a treatment for endstage renal disease. This pilot study examines the effect of donor bone marrow (DBM) infusion and antithymocyte serum (ATS) in combination with immunosuppressive drug therapy in prolonging renal allograft survival in dogs. Seven normal outbred mongrel dogs received an unmatched renal allograft. All dogs received rabbit anti-dog thymocyte serum (RADTS), prednisone (Pr), cyclosporine-A (CsA) and azathioprine (Aza). In addition, three dogs (group 1 test) received DBM and four dogs (group 2 control) did not receive DBM. Serum CsA levels were measured throughout the study. Immunosuppressive therapy was gradually reduced with Pr, CsA, and Aza withdrawn at 200, 450, and 680 days, respectively. Allograft rejection was treated with prednisolone sodium succinate. One dog in group 1 and one in group 2 died as a result of infectious canine rhinotracheitis and rejection early in the study. Renal allograft torsion occurred in one group 1 dog. The remaining four dogs survived the 2 years of the study. The dogs in group 2 (three dogs) all rejected the renal allograft after total drug withdrawal, the surviving dog in group 1 did not. This study demonstrates that RADTS, Pr, CsA, and Aza in combination can prolong renal allograft survival in mongrel dogs, whereas DBM may enhance the unresponsive state.

Microemulsified Cyclosporine‐Based Immunosuppression for the Prevention of Acute Renal Allograft Rejection in Unrelated Dogs: Preliminary Experimental Study

“…KCC in a severe form can be caused by mixed infections in unvaccinated and/or immunocompromised dogs, is often complicated by bacterial bronchopneumonia, and is difficult to distinguish from canine distemper 13 . B. bronchiseptica rhinotracheitis has been reported after renal transplantation and immunosuppression in the dog 14 . In one report, this infection led to allograft rejection in 2 of 3 dogs 14 .…”

Ciclosporin use in multi‐drug therapy for meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown aetiology in dogs

“…Overall median survival time was determined for all dogs, from Kaplan‐Meier analysis, and the result was compared with previously published results (Mathews and others 1994, Muñana and Luttgen 1998, Coates and others 2005, Schatzberg 2005). Finally, association between blood CiA levels and response to treatment was analysed.…”

Successful Management of Multidrug-Resistant <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> Pneumonia after Kidney Transplantation in a Dog

“…Infectious pneumonia is a severe complication at the early stage of kidney transplantation and is associated with significant mortality in recipients not only in human clinics but also in veterinary medicine [11, 12, 22]. However, no standard guidelines for managing infectious complications after transplantation have been set in veterinary medicine.…”