Primed lymphocyte typing predicts MLC reactivity between unrelated individuals

The present study was carried out to evaluate the ability of primed lymphocyte typing (PLT) to predict mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) reactivity between unrelated individuals. Eleven PLT cells generated against independent familial haplotypes, and one PLT cell generated against a homozygous typing cell (HTC), were tested for their response to cells of a random panel of 53 unrelated individuals. From Chi-square analysis of the response patterns of these 12 cells, nine "PLT specificities" could be defined. Most panel members (81.2%) types for 1 or 2 of these specificities; equal numbers (9.4%) types for 3 or none, respectively. Four of these 9 specificities were shown to be significantly correlated with HLA-Dw antigens defined by HTCs. Typing for these nine PLT specificities was found to be predictive of subsequent primary MLC reactivity between panel members: a) pairs of panel members sharing PLT specificities produced three-fold lower MLC results on the average than pairs of panel members disparate for PLT specificities (p less than 0.0001), and b) in MLC combinations, an increase in number of foreign PLT specificities presented by the stimulator cell was paralleled by a statistically significant increase in MLC reactivity. To the extent that low MLC reactivity is correlated with improved graft survival, the PLT method could have significant value in selecting histocompatible donors for organ transplantation.