Structural Shifts In The Intestinal Microbiota Of Rats Treated With Cyclosporine A After Orthotropic Liver Transplantation

Background:Orthotopic liver transplantation(LT)is a conventional life-saving treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease.Nevertheless,morbidity and mortality due to immunosuppressive agents(ISA)related complications remain as critical problems following transplantation.Here we aimed to assess the effects of cyclosporine A(CSA)on intestinal microbiota in rats after LT.Method:The whole experiment was divided into 4 groups.(i)N group(normal control,n=8)(ii)I group(Isograft LT,BN to BN,n=8)(iii)R group(allograft LT,Lewis-BN,n=8)(iv)CSA group(R group cheated with CSA,n=8).On the 28th day after the OLT,all animals were sacrificed for sample collection.Serum was collected for measurement of liver function.Tissue samples taken from the liver was fixed in 10%neutral formalin for later histological study by light microscopy.The fresh fecal of ileocecus was collected and stored in-80? for further analysis.Results:In our experiment,liver histopathology and function(P<0.001)after LT were both ameliorated by CSA compared to the R group.In the analysis of bacteria genus,in the group of CSA,the numbers of rDNA gene copies of Clostridium I,Clostridium XIV and Enterobacteriaceae decreased while Faecalibacterium prausnitzii increased.Cluster analyses indicated that the samples from the N,I and CSA groups were in one cluster,others contained the samples from the R group.Conclusion:CSA ameliorates hepatic graft injury and partially restore gut microbiota following LT,which may benefit hepatic graft rejection.