Abstract
Substantial evidence has accumulated to suggest that in the near future implementation of the veto-cell-suppressor concept in the treatment of kidney allograft recipients might lead to the establishment of life-long specific allograft tolerance in the absence of further immunosuppressive therapy. Veto suppression prevents the generation of antigen-specific T-helper and cytotoxic T lymphocytes in vitro provided that the T-lymphocyte precursors specifically recognize antigenic peptides associated with the major histocompatibility complex molecules class II and class I, respectively, expressed on the surface of the veto-active cell. Data from a large number of experimental and clinical studies strongly indicate that veto-active cells function in vivo and are capable of preventing allograft rejection. Thus, donor-cell-mediated veto activity is the most likely explanation for the well-known graft tolerizing effect of pretransplant donor blood transfusions in kidney graft recipients. A prerequisite for a veto-active environment in vivo is the establishment of lymphoid microchimerism, in which veto-active donor and recipient cells mutually downregulate potential alloaggression.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Acta Pathologica Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | 345-53 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| ISSN | 0903-4641 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 1998 |
Keywords
- Animals
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
- Chimera
- Graft Rejection
- Histocompatibility Antigens Class I
- Humans
- Immune Tolerance
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Mice
- T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory