Intrahepatic lymphoid tissue graft: course of the Gvh reaction induced by Peyer's patches

Abstract

To investigate the thymus-dependent immune competence of Peyer's patches, the course of splenomegaly and hepatic perivascular infiltration (PVI) was studied as criteria of graft-versus-host reaction (GvhR). Parental or F1 hybrid lymphoid tissues, were intrahepatically implanted and the ability of Peyer's patches to induce a GvhR was compared to that of spleen, lymph nodes and thymus. A slight but significant delayed increase of spleen index was observed at the 40th post operative day following Peyer's patches implantation whereas the thymus did not induce any modification of this parameter. On the other hand, the PVI was a very early and precise criterion in monitoring the Gvh reaction induced by Peyer's patches, and allowed to postulate that at least one T-cell function is present within the Peyer's patches.