Effect of incubation in vitro with triamcinolone acetonide on murine heart and skin allograft survival

Mouse neonatal heart fragments or adult skin grafts were incubated either in a aqueous suspension of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) or in saline before grafting to isogeneic and allogeneic recipients. Almost invariably, TA incubated (40 or 10 mg/ml) heart fragment grafts failed to develop pulsatile or electrocardiographic activity. Likewise, TA incubated (40 mg/ml) skin grafts did not "take." In contrast, saline treated grafts (heart fragments and skin) did "take" and survive as expected. That is, isografts survived indefinitely, whereas allografts were rejected in normal first-set fashion. Apparently, pretreatment with TA significantly jeopardized the revascularization of both and iso- and allografted heart fragments and skin and resulted in consequent graft necrosis.