Apoptosis of acinar cells in pancreas allograft rejection

Background Recently it has been recognized that apoptosis of target cells may occur during liver and kidney allograft rejection and is probably induced by infiltrating cells. Pancreas rejection is also characterized by a cellular infiltrate, however, the occurrence of apoptosis has not been investigated. We assessed whether pancreas rejection was associated with apoptosis of target cells and an influx of granzyme B (GrB)-positive or CD68-positive cells. Methods. Eighteen pancreas biopsies (10 of 18 with rejection) from 15 patients with a pancreas-kidney transplantation were stained with the in situ end-labeling method for apoptosis, and for CD3, GrB, and CD68. Results. Significantly more apoptotic acinar cells were found in biopsies with rejection when compared with biopsies without rejection. No difference was observed between the groups for GrB(+) or CD68(+) cells. Conclusion. We conclude that pancreas rejection is associated with apoptosis of acinar cells, but not with an increased influx of GrB(+) cells or macrophages.