Gene Silencing of 4-1BB by RNA Interference Inhibits Acute Rejection in Rats with Liver Transplantation

The 4-1BB signal pathway plays a key role in organ transplantation tolerance. In this study, we have investigated the effect of gene silencing of 4-1BB by RNA interference (RNAi) on the acute rejection in rats with liver transplantation. The recombination vector of lentivirus that contains shRNA targeting the 4-1BB gene (LV-sh4-1BB) was constructed. The liver transplantation was performed using the two-cuff technique. Brown-Norway (BN) recipient rats were infected by the recombinant LVs. The results showed that gene silencing of 4-1BB by RNAi downregulated the 4-1BB gene expression of the splenic lymphocytes in vitro, and the splenic lymphocytes isolated from the rats with liver transplantation. LV-sh4-1BB decreased the plasma levels of liver injury markers including AST, ALT, and BIL and also decreased the level of plasma IL-2 and IFN-γ in recipient rats with liver transplantation. Lentivirus-mediated delivery of shRNA targeting 4-1BB gene prolonged the survival time of recipient and alleviated the injury of liver morphology in recipient rats with liver transplantation. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that gene silencing of 4-1BB by RNA interference inhibits the acute rejection in rats with liver transplantation.