[Lymphocyte reactions at early periods after heart transplantation]

The authors determined the quantitative and qualitative composition of the white blood and dehydrogenase activity of lymphocytes in the blood from the afferent and afferent vessels of the transplanted heart at the early postoperative periods in dogs. There was noted a reduction of the lymphocyte count in the blood flowing from the transplanted heart on account of retention of these cells in the transplant, and also an inversion of the mitochondrial dehydrogenases activity due to the lymphocyte contact with foreign antigens of the transplanted heart. A hypothesis is put forward that the inversion mechanism was connected with the lymphocyte functions in the capacity of immunocompetent cells.