Linked suppression of skin graft rejection can operate through indirect recognition

Abstract

Adult mice can be rendered immunologically tolerant of allogeneic tissues if transplanted under cover of mAbs to CD4 and CD8. Tolerance generated in this manner is characterized by the presence of regulatory CD4+ T cells that can recruit naive T cells to become tolerant also through "infectious tolerance." Regulatory CD4+ T cells can also suppress rejection of third party transplant Ags provided they are expressed on the same graft as the tolerated Ags. This process of linked suppression can act across whole MHC barriers and represents a powerful mechanism with therapeutic potential. Tolerance can also be induced to reprocessed minor transplantation Ags presented through host APCs (indirect recognition). We here demonstrate that linked suppression can also be induced through the indirect pathway. This finding may be important in the development of transplantation tolerance in the clinic.