PROLONGATION OF SKIN ALLOGRAFT SURVIVAL IN H-2 K AND I REGION-INCOMPATIBLE MICE BY PRETRANSPLANT BLOOD TRANSFUSION

Abstract

The effect of donor specific and nonspecific pretransplant blood transfusion on skin allograft survival was studied in a mouse model, using skin donor-recipient combinations that differed at the K and I regions of the H-2 complex. In the first series of experiments, B6AF1 mice were treated with antilymphocyte serum (ALS) and grafted with DBA/2 skin. This donor-recipient combination differs in the K and I regions of the H-2 complex. Recipients were transfused 10 days before grafting with donor-specific DBA/2 blood or blood from various donors which were either completely incompatible at the H-2 complex with DBA/2 or shared various H-2 specificities with DBA/2. Only donor-specific DBA/2 blood or blood from donors sharing the K and I regions of the H-2 with DBA/2 prolonged DBA/2 skin graft survival. Donor-specific blood was effective over a wide interval between transfusion and grafting (days -50 to -10). In a second series of experiments using congenic strains of mice, the effect of pretransplant transfusions was studied in the B10.D2 to B10.A combination. These strains differ at the K and I region of the H-2, but share the same minor histocompatibility antigens. ALS-treated B10.A recipients were transfused either with donor-specific B10.D2 blood or blood from B10.BR which shares the minor histocompatibility antigens with B10.D2, but differs in the major antigens or DBA/2 blood which shares the majority histocompatibility antigens with B10.D2, but differs in the minor antigens. Only donor-specific blood or blood from the DBA/2 donor sharing the major antigens with the skin donor prolonged graft survival.