The host component of the graft-versus-host reaction. A study on the popliteal lymph node reaction in the rat.
I have measured the proportion of host cells in a popliteal lymph node undergoing a graft-versus-host (GVH) reaction. By using cytotoxic alloantisera with specificity for donor and host Ag-B determined antigens, it was found that about 90% of live cells suspended from the node were of host origin. The role of host T lymphocytes in this reaction was evaluated by investigating GVH-reactivity in hosts depleted of T cells (B rats). These rats differed very little from normal hosts with regard to lymph node weight increase (which was, in fact, slightly enhanced), increase in node cellularity, and donor/host contribution. The number of i.v. infused 51Cr-labelled thoracic duct lymphocytes localizing in popliteal lymph nodes undergoing a GVH-reaction was increased, but the significance of this phenomenon for the lymph node enlargement is questionable.
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D006087:Graft vs Host Reaction; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000276:immunology*; D009929:Organ Size; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D013997:Time Factors