Prevention by thymectomy of tolerance induced by intrathymic injection of donor splenocytes

We have recently demonstrated indefinite donor-specific cardiac allograft survival after the intrathymic injection of donor splenocytes and simultaneous injection of antilymphocyte serum (ALS) in a fully major histocompatibility complex-mismatched rat combination. In this study we performed thymectomy to determine the length of time required for donor alloantigen to be present in the recipient thymus to induce tolerance.

Male Buffalo (BUF; RT1b) rats at 4 to 8 weeks of age underwent intrathymic injection of 25 x 10(6) Lewis (LEW; RT1(1)) splenocytes and simultaneously received an intraperitoneal injection of 1 ml ALS. To determine the kinetics of tolerance induction, the BUF recipients underwent thymectomy on days 1, 3, or 7 after the initial intrathymic injection of alloantigen and intraperitoneal ALS. Twenty-one days after intrathymic alloantigen injection and ALS, all rats underwent transplantation with a heterotopic LEW cardiac allograft.

Thymectomy performed 1 (mean survival time, 6.8 days) and 3 (mean survival time, 8.0 days) days after donor alloantigen injection and ALS did not affect the normal rejection of LEW cardiac allografts. In contrast, thymectomy 7 days after intrathymic alloantigen injection and ALS resulted in indefinite survival of cardiac allografts in 75% of recipients (mean survival time > 77.0 days). In addition, allospecific cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity and interleukin-2 production were markedly decreased in those recipients undergoing thymectomy after 7 days compared with untreated control rats and recipients undergoing thymectomy 1 and 3 days after alloantigen injection.

The presence of the thymus for at least 7 days after intrathymic alloantigen injection and intraperitoneal ALS allows the development of indefinite donor-specific cardiac allograft tolerance.