title: The role of class I and class II MHC antigens in the rejection of vascularized heart allografts in mice.
abstract: We have examined the role of entire major histocompatibility complex (MHC) disparity, individual class II or class I alloantigens in the rejection of vascularized heart allografts. Our results demonstrate that entire MHC, as well as both class II and class I disparities, may induce acute heart graft rejection or severe and irreversible heart muscle destruction. However, in 1 of 2 combinations differing at class II and 1 of 5 differing at class I, hearts have shown a good function greater than 100 days postgrafting. Furthermore, each donor-recipient combination has demonstrated a unique pattern of heart allograft function as well as a degree of heart muscle damage. In conclusion, these data suggest that the rejection process depends upon multiple factors such as the immune-response-gene-regulated immunoresponsiveness of the recipient as well as the expression of alloantigens on heart grafts during the induction and effector phases of the immune response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Stepkowski
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raza-Ahmad
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Duncan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains / Q000276:immunology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D006183:H-2 Antigens; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II