Response to isoantigens and mitogens in the cat: effects of cyclosporin A

Growing interest in the use of domesticated cats to study immune-mediated disease and in the research and clinical application of organ and tissue transplantation provided the need for in vitro assays estimating histocompatibility and cell-mediated immunity. In the present study, a whole-blood lymphocyte-stimulation microassay and mixed lymphocyte-response assay were adapted and used to measure significant responses from feline lymphocytes to mitogen and lymphocyte-defined histocompatibility antigens. The addition of cyclosporin A to whole-blood lymphocyte-stimulation microassay and mixed lymphocyte-response assay produced similar non-cytotoxic decrease in lymphocyte responses seen in other species.