Paneth Cell Alterations During Ischemia-reperfusion, Follow-up, and Graft Rejection After Intestinal Transplantation

Background. Ischemia-reperfusion injury is inevitable during intestinal transplantation (ITx) and executes a key role in the evolution towards rejection. Paneth cells (PCs) are crucial for epithelial immune defense and highly vulnerable to ischemiareperfusion injury. We investigated the effect of ITx on PC after reperfusion (T0), during follow-up, and rejection. Moreover, we investigated whether PC loss was associated with impaired graft homeostasis. Methods. Endoscopic biopsies, collected according to center protocol and at rejection episodes, were retrospectively included (n = 28 ITx, n = 119 biopsies) Biopsies were immunohistochemically co-stained for PC (lysozyme) and apoptosis, and PC/crypt and lysozyme intensity were scored. Results. We observed a decrease in PC/crypt and lysozyme intensity in the first week after ITx (W1) compared with T0. There was a tendency towards a larger decline in PC/crypt (P = 0.08) and lysozyme intensity (P = 0.08) in W1 in patients who later developed rejection compared with patients without rejection. Follow-up biopsies showed that the PC number recovered, whereas lysozyme intensity remained reduced. This persisting innate immune defect may contribute to the well-known vulnerability of the intestine to infection. There was no clear evidence that PCs were affected throughout rejection. Conclusions. This study revealed a transient fall in PC numbers in the early post-ITx period but a permanent reduction in lysozyme intensity following ITx. Further research is needed to determine the potential clinical impact of PC impairment after ITx

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