Dissociation of Isohæmagglutinin Formation and Tolerance of Skin Grafts in Chicks

Abstract

THE administration of homologous whole blood into the embryo or new-born animal can produce either tolerance of skin grafts¹ or lead to the suppression of the isohsemagglutinin formation². The causal relationship between these two types of immunological areactivity, however, remains obscure. It could be due to the fact that an identical antigenic stimulus is needed for agglutinin formation and transplantation immunity. There is evidence that red blood cells and some other tissue cells have some antigens in common. After the transplantation of tumours in mice and rats³ and after the transplantation of skin in mice, rabbits and chicks⁴, agglutinin formation was revealed even in those instances where the participation of red blood cells transferred in the graft could be ruled out. On the other hand, at least in mammals, red blood cells alone were not able to produce immunity against skin grafts⁵.