The aim of the presented experimental work was to study an acute cell and antibody- mediated immune response in recipients of abdominal aortic grafts treated by a new standardized clinical cryopreservation/slow thawing protocol used in the "Vascular graft transplant program in the Czech Republic" in a rat model. Another aim of our study was to compare the influence of two basic types of conservation protocols used in this program (cryopreservation/slow thawing protocol and cold-stored protocol) on the acute immune response after transplantation of such treated abdominal aortic grafts in rats. Cryopreserved abdominal aortic grafts were transplanted syngeneously between Lewis rats (CRYO-ISO group, cryopreservation period 172.6 days) and allogeneically between Brown-Norway and Lewis rats (CRYO-ALO group, cryopreservation period 179.3 days). The grafts were explanted on day 30 after transplantation and subsequently examined by histological and immunohistochemical methods, focusing on typical signs of acute rejection in the three basic layers of the aortic wall. We monitored the presence of endothelial cells, signs of intimal hyperplasia, tunica media thickness, the presence of necrosis and deposition of imunoglobulin class G in this layer, the number of CD4+, CD8+ and LEW MHC II+ immunocompetent cells...

Possibilities of Portal Vein Reconstruction during Surgical Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer - Experiment on a Large Animal Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is a fatal malignancy that is known as one of the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. The only potentially curative treatment is radical surgical resection. Because of the lack of early symptoms, the diagnosis is usually made in advanced stages of the disease. In the majority of patients, the tumor is already locally advanced or it has distant metastases at the time of diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer tends to infiltrate the portal vein (PV) or the superior mesenteric vein (SMV). Nowadays, resection of infiltrated parts of PV/SMV is recommended in specialized centers. There are several established techniques of PV/SMV reconstruction. The use of allogeneic venous grafts seems to be a method with minimal risk of adverse effects but there is only limited experience with these grafts. The optimal anatomical origin of allogeneic venous grafts for PV/SMV reconstruction remains unknown. Aims: The aim of this experiment was to compare two types of allogeneic venous grafts used for PV reconstruction in a large animal model of pancreatico- duodenectomy. These grafts were harvested from the systemic venous system (inferior caval vein grafts - IVC grafts) and...