Spectrum of histopathological changes in pancreas allograft biopsies and relationship to graft loss.

Histological evaluation of pancreas allografts through the use of needle biopsies is of paramount importance for the determination of the etiology of graft dysfunction. In addition, pathological assessment of the overall status of the exocrine, endocrine, and vascular components provides invaluable information with regards to the prognosis of the graft. Pancreas allograft failure results from a variety of causes, highly dependent on the time posttransplantation, but after the first 6 months' posttransplantation the most common cause of graft loss is chronic rejection. The main histological manifestations of chronic rejection are progressive graft sclerosis (increasing fibrosis and proportional atrophy of the glandular components), secondarily leading to endocrine failure. Evaluation of serial biopsies in patients with graft failure has shown that the most important histological predictors of chronic rejection/graft sclerosis are diffuse acinar inflammation and acute and chronic vascular injury in the form of intimal arteritis and proliferative transplant arteriopathy, respectively.