Rosiglitazone attenuates transplant arteriosclerosis after allogeneic aorta transplantation in rats

BACKGROUND. Transplant arteriosclerosis is a leading cause of chronic transplant dysfunction and is characterized by occlusive neointima formation in intragraft arteries. Development of transplant arteriosclerosis is refractory to conventional immunosuppressive drugs and adequate therapy is not available. In this study, we determined the efficacy of the synthetic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ agonist rosiglitazone to attenuate the development of transplant arteriosclerosis in rat aortic allografts. METHODS. Lewis aortic allografts were transplanted into Brown Norway recipient rats. Recipient rats received either ∼5 mg rosiglitazone/day (starting 1 week before transplantation until the end of the experiment) or were left untreated. Transplant arteriosclerosis was quantified using morphometric analysis. Alloreactivity was measured in vitro using mixed lymphocyte reactions. Regulatory T cell frequency and function were analyzed using flow cytometry and in vitro suppression assays, respectively. Intragraft gene expression was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Finally, medial and neointimal vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation was analyzed in vitro. RESULTS. Rosiglitazone significantly reduced transplant arteriosclerosis development 8 weeks after transplantation (P<0.01 vs. nontreated). Rosiglitazone reduced T cell alloreactivity which was not mediated through modulation of CD4CD25FoxP3 regulatory T cells. Reduced development of transplant arteriosclerosis coincided with reduced intragraft expression of stromal-derived factor-1α and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β. Finally, rosiglitazone reduced growth-factor-driven proliferation of both medial and neointimal vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro, which was not mediated through PPARγ. CONCLUSION. PPARγ agonists may offer a new therapeutic strategy in clinical transplantation to attenuate the development of transplant arteriosclerosis and thereby chronic transplant dysfunction.