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Skin graft tolerance across a discordant xenogeneic barrier

Nature Medicine volume 2, pages 1211–1216 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

Specific T–cell tolerance may be essential for successful xenotransplantation in humans. Grafting of thymectomized, T cell–depleted normal mice with xenogeneic fetal pig thymus and liver (FP THY/LIV) tissue results in the recovery of functional CD4 antigen–positive cells. We have tested T–cell tolerance by skin grafting. Donor–matched pig skin survived permanently (>200 days), whereas allogeneic mouse skin was rapidly rejected. Nontolerant control mice rejected pig skin within 26 days. Both porcine and murine histocompatibility class IIhigh cells were detected in long–term thymus grafts, and T–cell repertoire analyses suggested that tolerance to both donors and recipients developed, at least in part, by intragraft clonal deletion. This study demonstrates the principle that tolerance, measured by the stringent criterion of skin grafting, can be induced across a widely disparate species barrier.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Transplantation Biology Research Center, Surgical Service, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, MGH East, Building 149-5102, 13th Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02129, USA

    Yong Zhao, Kirsten Swenson, Justin J. Sergio, J. Scott Arn, David H. Sachs & Megan Sykes

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Zhao, Y., Swenson, K., Sergio, J. et al. Skin graft tolerance across a discordant xenogeneic barrier. Nat Med 2, 1211–1216 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1196-1211

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