Do well-to-do and repeatedly rejecting renal allografts express the transplantation antigens similarly on their surface?
We have performed fine-needle aspiration biopsies to well-to-do  and repeatedly rejecting renal allografts. After biopsy the aspirated cells were treated either (a) with monospecific rabbit antisera to HLA-ABC, -DR or beta 2m, or (b) with ordinary anti-HLA-A and B alloantisera. After wash, the cell-bound antibody was chased with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I bacteria and the antibody-binding cell type(s) was analyzed from stained cytocentrifuged cell smears. In normal, non-transplanted human kidneys the passenger leukocytes and (part of) the endothelial cells bound strongly both anti-HLA-ABC and -DR, the tubular cells weakly anti-ABC but not anti-DR while the glomerular cells did not bind either type of antiserum or bound them only very weakly. In 7 or 8 transplants with an excellent postoperative course we were unable to demonstrate the HLA-ABC and DR antigens on the graft endothelial component. Instead, in 7 of 8 transplants with repeated late rejection episodes, both the HLA-ABC and DR antigens were distinctly expressed on the endothelial cells of the graft.
D000818:Animals; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D004727:Endothelium / Q000276:immunology; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000378:metabolism
D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A