Immune reactivity of cells from long-term rat renal allograft survivors

Lewis rats receiving an LBN kidney allograft demonstrate no signs of rejection if they are pretreated with donor spleen cells and antiserum reactive with the donor alloantigen. We examined the cellular reactivity of long-term kidney allograft survivors. Normal proliferative and cytolytic responses were obtained with spleen cells from long-term survivors, in marked contrast to the diminished responses of cells from neonatally tolerant rats or the heightened cytolytic response of cells from rats that had rejected a renal allograft. Serum from long-term renal allograft survivors as well as serum obtained from rats at the time of transplantation did not suppress proliferative or cytolytic responses of normal cells. The results of this study suggest that long-term renal allograft survivors possess the precursors of those cells which are responsible for proliferative and cytolytic responses in mixed leukocyte cultures, but that they have not been sensitized to their renal allograft.