Immunospecific depletion of lymphocytes rejecting skin allografts using sensitized syngeneic initiator T lymphocytes.
Experiments were done to prolong the survival of transplanted allogeneic skin in mice. We used the recruitment model of cell-mediated immunity to remove effector lymphocytes of recipients specifically directed against foreign antigens of the skin graft donor. BALB/c recipient mice were inoculated in both footpads with syngeneic initiator T lymphocytes (ITLs) sensitized against C57BL/6 fibroblasts. At the height of the recruitment response, the reacting popliteal lymph nodes (PLNs), containing specific anti-C57BL/6 effector lymphocytes, were surgically excised. The mice were then engrafted with skin from C57BL/6 mice or third-party C3H/eB mice. We found that selective treatment of the recipient significantly prolonged the mean survival time of the antigen-specific C57BL/6 grafts from 11.9 to 22.1 days. These findings show that physiological immunosuppression can be achieved, without any harmful or toxic side effects, by sequestration of the recipient's specific lymphocytes.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous