title: Amelioration of graft-versus-host disease by pretreatment of allogeneic cells with Fab fragments.
abstract: We have previously reported the protective effect of pretreatment of semiallogeneic marrow and spleen cells with Fab fragments of horse anti-mouse thymocyte globulin against otherwise 100% fatal acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We have now examined the effect of this pretreatment in three allogeneic strain combinations of mice, namely, A leads to C57, CBA leads to CAF1, and CBA leads to BALB/c. Acute GVHD mortality at 15 days postirradiation and transplantation of untreated marrow and spleen cells was 100% in all the strain combinations. However, pretreatment of cells with Fab reduced acute GVHD mortality to 6, 13, and 33% for the CBA leads to CAF1, CBA leads to BALB/c, and A leads to C57 strain combinations, respectively. The combined mortality from both acute and secondary GVHD and all other causes at 60 and 200 days postirradiation was 6 and 11%, 20 and 39%, 50 and 66% for each of these strain combinations, respectively. These results provide additional evidence for the effectiveness of Fab in ameliorating acute GVHD and establish its applicability to allogeneic strain combinations.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains / Q000276:immunology; D013154:Spleen / Q000637:transplantation; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments