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Intrathymic (IT) delivery of donor alloantigen is a potent strategy to induce operational tolerance. In this study we determined whether this effect was dependent on direct allorecognition of the tolerogen. Ten microgrammes of plasmid, encoding either the wildtype major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule K(b) or a truncated form in which the signal sequence for translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum was deleted, preventing cell surface expression and direct allorecognition of the tolerogen, was administered intrathymically to CBA.Ca (H2(k)) recipients. In addition, recipients were treated with anti-CD4 antibody (YTA3.1) at the time of IT injection and underwent transplantation 28 days later with a fully mismatched C57BL/10 (H2(b)) cardiac allograft. Wildtype, as well as truncated K(b) genes, were able to induce long-term survival of the cardiac allografts, in contrast to empty control plasmid. Reverse-transcriptase PCR showed expression of the K(b) genes for up to 28 days in thymus and spleen of pretreated recipients. These data show that direct allorecognition of the tolerogen was not required for the induction of long-term allograft survival following the introduction of plasmid-encoded MHC alloantigen into the thymus.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/s00147-004-0741-4

Type

Journal article

Journal

Transpl Int

Publication Date

09/2004

Volume

17

Pages

458 - 462

Keywords

Animals, Cloning, Molecular, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Graft Survival, Heart Transplantation, Histocompatibility Antigens Class I, Histocompatibility Testing, Major Histocompatibility Complex, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Inbred CBA, Mice, Inbred Strains, Plasmids, Transplantation, Homologous