Abstract
ABSTRACTPurposeTo assess the influence of prolonged cyclosporine use on the macro- and microscopic morphology of the spleen.Methods16 adult rabbits were divided into two groups (n = 8): group 1 – a placebo group, which was followed-up over a period of nine months; group 2 – which had taken an oral dose of cyclosporine (10 mg·kg–1·day–1) over nine months. At the end of this period, the splenic histoarchitecture of all animals was evaluated and the splenic corpuscles were measured.ResultsThe spleens of the first group presented normal characteristics and dimensions. The second group, however, had a reduction in all dimensions and its tissue texture had become soft. The white pulp and the perivascular sheath had become reduced in size and the number of lymphoid follicles had also fallen (p = 0.002), manifesting less splenic corpuscles (p = 0.0012) and lymphocyte nuclear pigments (p = 0.03).ConclusionsProlonged use of cyclosporine reduces the spleen size, transforming it into a soft organ associated with a decrease in white pulp, perivascular sheath, lymphoid follicles and nuclear pigments in rabbits.
Highlights
The spleen has relevant immune functions, including the removal of antigens from the bloodstream and the production of antibodies, immunoglobulins, amino acids, lymphocytes, monocytes and opsonins
Cyclosporine has an immunosuppressive effect based on cellular immune response and causes a reduction of antibody-dependent T lymphocytes[5]
All animals survived during the nine months of the experiment without complications. Their weight increased uniformly and the amount of cyclosporine administered to group 2 was weekly adjusted according to the weight of each rabbit
Summary
The spleen has relevant immune functions, including the removal of antigens from the bloodstream and the production of antibodies, immunoglobulins, amino acids, lymphocytes, monocytes and opsonins. It is important for complement factors, fibronectin, C-reactive protein, tuftsin and properdin[1,2,3,4]. The drug is nephrotoxic and is associated with systemic arterial hypertension, neurotoxicity and sepsis. Some clinical disorders, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, have been frequently described[7,8,9,10,11,12]
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