Humoral Immunity After Splenorenal Artery Bypass

Abstract

Splenorenal artery bypass is not an uncommon procedure for correctable renal hyper tension. Although it is well known that the removal of the spleen greatly impairs humoral immunity, no data exist regarding the humoral response after a splenorenal artery bypass. The purpose of this study was to assess the humoral response to an intravenous bolus of sheep erythrocytes in Sprague-Dawley rats after they underwent a splenorenal artery bypass.

Sixteen male, retired breeder, Sprague-Dawley rats (weight 400 to 450 g) were divided into three groups and successfully studied. The first six rats were the control group and underwent sham operations consisting of a midline laparotomy followed by primary closure. The second group (n=6) underwent splenectomies with suture ligation of the splenic artery at the hilum. A splenic artery to left renal artery bypass was performed on the rats in the last group (n=4). After recovery, the rats were given an intravenous bolus of sheep erythrocytes via direct cannulation of the femoral vein. One week later, their antibody titers were assessed by hemagglutination assays.

The antibody titers of the sham-operated rats (939 ±244.4) were significantly different than those of the splenectomized group (16 ±3.6) and the bypassed group (80 ±16.0). Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the bypassed and splenectomized rats.

The results suggest that the use of pneumococcal vaccine and early antibiotic treatment may be warranted in splenorenal artery bypass patients in order to avoid infec tious sequelae.

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