Allogeneic radiation chimeras: long-term studies

Lethally irradiated mice protected with allogeneic fetal liver cells or with syngeneic or allogeneic marrow and spleen cells treated with antisera to mouse immunoglobulins or to the T cell-associated 0 antigen and their controls were observed for up to 750 days. The best survival rates were found in the large groups given syngeneic marrow and spleen or allogeneic fetal liver cells (70-85 percent 700-day survival); in contrast, 43 percent of the group injected with allogeneic cells treated with anti-0 serum and 19 percent of those given antimmunoglobulin-treated cells were alive 700 days postradiation. Pulmonary infection was the most frequent cause of death of long-term survivors in all groups. Tumor incidence was increased in recipients of allogeneic cells (13 percent versus 4 percent among syngeneic chimeras), but the renal pathology seen in these groups was no greater than that noted in the syngeneic controls. Beginning 600 days after irradiation, mice from experimental and control groups were killed and their spleens were cultured with thymus-dependent antigens and the mitogens concanavalin Λ and lipopolysaccharide, Escherichia coli. The most frequent finding in all groups was mild to moderate impairment of T cell-dependent responses. (U.S.)