Differences in the prolongation of skin graft survival by pretransplant blood injections in the model system of congenic lines of chickens

Abstract

The effect of pretransplant donor-specific blood injections on the survival of subsequent skin grafts was studied in the group of congenic chicken lines (CB, CC, CB.R1, CC.R1, CC.R2) disparate at the major histocompatibility complex (B complex) haplotype or at its individual regions (B-F and B-G). Different combinations of blood and skin donors and recipients were tested that were disparate either at the B-F region or at combined B-F and B-G regions. Significant differences between individual lines were found. In CC (B4) recipients, survival times of CB.R1 (B12r1, B-F disparity) and CB (B12, B-F + B-G disparity) skin grafts were prolonged by injections of CB.R1 blood, but not of CB blood. In CB recipients, the survival of CC.R1 (B4r1, B-F disparity) and CC (B4, B-F + B-G disparity) skin grafts was also prolonged by pretreatment with CC.R1 blood, albeit less prolonged than in CC recipients. The recipients from the recombinant lines CB.R1 and CC.R1 responded differently. In CB.R1 recipients, the survival of only CC.R1 grafts was prolonged by the injection of CC.R1 blood (B-F + B-G disparity). In CC.R1 recipients, differences between pretreatment with CB blood (B-F disparity) and CB.R1 blood (B-F + B-G disparity) and between survival times of CB and CB.R1 skin grafts were not found. The observed differences in graft survival may be due to the strength of antigenic difference between B-F4 and B-F12 products and to the different cooperation of B-F and B-G region antigens in the recombinant haplotypes.