Prolongation of alloskin graft survival by catalytic scavengers of reactive oxygen species

We tested the effects of salen manganese (Salen-Mn) complexes, which are scavengers of reactive oxygen species exhibiting superoxide dismutase and catalase activities on the rejection of and alloresponse to fully allogeneic skin grafts in mice. We showed that pre-transplant treatment of C57Bl/6 donor skin or of BALB/c recipients with Salen-Mn complexes significantly delayed allograft rejection. ELISPOT analysis of alloimmune response of treated mice revealed a significant reduction of the frequency of type 1 cytokine (pro-inflammatory) producing T-cells, while the number of activated T-cells producing type 2 cytokines was elevated. In addition, anti-oxidative treatment of graft recipients resulted in a profound inhibition of their donor-specific cytotoxic T-cell response. Our results indicate that salen manganese complexes mediate their effect on graft rejection both by reducing the susceptibility of graft tissue to ROS-mediated injury and by exerting an anti-inflammatory effect in recipients.