PREDICTIVE VALUE OF RESULTS OF MIXED LEUKOCYTE CULTURES FOR SKIN ALLOGRAFT SURVIVAL IN MAN

Abstract

We have transplanted skin between siblings who were matched by one-way stimulation in mixed leukocyte cultures (MLC). Grafts were done in a blind study between siblings who were reproducibly identical in MLC (did not stimulate each other) and between siblings who did stimulate. We took as our hypothesis that grafts between siblings whose cells did not stimulate in MLC should survive longer than grafts between siblings whose cells did stimulate in MLC. Our comparisons were made between the survival of an incompatible graft and two compatible grafts on each individual. Graft survival data for the two families shows a median graft survival of 1225 days for 4 MLC incompatible grafts (range 11–13) days and an average of 26 days for 8 MLC compatible grafts (range 15–36 days) without any overlap between the groups.