Objective  To investigate the relationship between tenascin-C (TNC) and acute rejection (AR) early after liver transplantation.

  Methods  Six Brown Norway (BN) rats and 16 Lewis rats were divided into the AR group (Lewis→BN, 6 donors and 6 recipients) and control group (Lewis→Lewis, 5 donors and 5 recipients). The transplant liver tissues from rats in two groups were subjected to pathological examination. The rejection activity index (RAI) was evaluated by Banff schema. The expression of TNC proteins in the transplant liver tissues were determined by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot. The expression level of serum TNC was detected by enzyme-linked immune absorbent assay (ELISA), and the correlation between TNC and RAI score was analyzed.

  Results  Pathological examination of the transplant liver at 7 d after liver transplantation showed that the RAI score in the AR group was higher than that in the control group. Immunohistochemical staining results found that the distribution of TNC positive cells of the transplant liver in the AR group was more than that in control group at postoperative 7 d. Western blot showed that the relative expression level of TNC protein in the AR group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 7 d after liver transplantation (t=5.112, P=0.007). ELISA results revealed that the serum TNC expression level in the AR group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 7 d after liver transplantation (t=3.152, P=0.012). The serum TNC expression level was positively correlated with the RAI score (r=0.790 9, P=0.004).

  Conclusions  The expression level of TNC is associated with AR after liver transplantation. TNC may become a novel target for diagnosis and treatment of AR early after liver transplantation.