Transplantation Tolerance Induced in Adult Mice by Protein Overloading of Donors

Abstract

Treatment of donor animals with unrelated antigens can regularly inhibit reactivity of spleen cells against the host, with subsequent induction of specific immune tolerance in the recipient animals if the barrier to histocompatibility is weak. Mice made tolerant in this way accept skin grafts from donor strain animals. In the case of strong differences (in H₂ locus) or heterologous (rat-mouse) combinations, the inhibition of the reactivity of the transferred lymphoïd cells against the host is partial, and the skin-graft survival time is significantly prolonged.