Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is the most important cause of graft dysfunction post‐lung
transplantation. It is likely that the small airway epithelium is a target of the alloimmune
response, and that epithelial integrity is a crucial determinant of airway patency. Our goals
are to elucidate epithelial cell kinetics in the heterotopic mouse trachea model and to
determine potential mechanisms of cell death in allografts. Allografts and isografts were
obtained by transplanting BALB/c tracheas into C57BL/6 and BALB/c immunosuppressed …