Survival of Skin Homografts in Adult Mice After Combined Thymectomy-Splenectomy and Steroid Therapy.

Abstract

Summary In young adult C₃H mice combined thymectomy-splenectomy with or without hydrocortisone and testosterone therapy failed in general to affect the fate of skin homografts from CE/J and SWR/J donors. A significant but modest delay in “second-set” graft rejection was achieved by combined thymectomy-splenectomy supplemented with hydrocortisone injections. Likewise, following the intraperitoneal injections of several antigens, animals which had undergone combined thymectomy and splenectomy and/ or had been treated with hydrocortisone or testosterone showed a significant impairment in the anticipated rise of serum γ2-globulin without, however, showing any appreciable suppression of precipitin antibody response. These findings underline the difficulty of effectively suppressing homograft rejection and humoral antibody formation in adult mice in spite of ablation of 2 major lymphoid organs and intensive steroid therapy.