Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Mouse Model of Alloimmune-induced Vascular Rejection and Transplant Arteriosclerosis
Published on: May 17, 2015
Peripheral regulation of graft-versus-host alloreactivity in mixed chimeric miniature swine
S M Kunisaki1, G W Haller, Y Fuchimoto
1Transplantation Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, MGH-East, Building 149-9019, 13th Street, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
Background:
Despite the presence of circulating donor-derived T cells during the induction of mixed chimerism across MHC barriers in miniature swine, severe graft-versus-host disease was avoided in the majority of animals. In this study, we investigated the possible roles of recipient and donor lymphoid populations in the regulation of donor-anti-recipient alloreactivity.
Methods:
Mixed chimerism across a full MHC-mismatch barrier was established in miniature swine using a high-dose allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell protocol. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from mixed chimeric swine were co-cultured with naïve donor-matched responders and naïve recipient-matched stimulators in mixed lymphocyte reactions.
Results:
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from mixed chimeras inhibited donor-anti-recipient proliferation. This suppression was radioresistant to 25 Gy. Suppression of donor-anti-recipient alloreactivity was not observed in mixed lymphocyte co-cultures when donor-derived cells were added in the absence of recipient-derived cells.
Conclusions:
These results suggest an association between the presence of an active and relatively radioresistant cell population, demonstrable in vitro, and the regulation of graft-versus-host disease across MHC barriers in mixed chimeric miniature swine.
