Mechanisms of transplantation tolerance induced by liver grafting in rats: involvement of serum factors in clonal deletion.

Abstract

An adoptive transfer assay system was used to investigate the ability of serum from tolerant, liver-grafted rats to inactivate normal thoracic duct lymphocytes. PVG rats were rendered tolerant of DA alloantigens by liver grafting. Serum taken from such rats was used to treat normal PVG thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) in vitro and the transplant reactivity of the cells then tested in an adoptive transfer assay. Specific decreased responsiveness compared with TDL treated with normal sera was observed, indicating the functional elimination of alloreactive clones by agents in liver-graft serum.