Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Reversal of transplantation immunity by liver grafting

Nature volume 292, pages 840–842 (1981)Cite this article

Abstract

The transplantation of organs between individuals of a species normally has two main consequences: (1) the tissue is rejected unless the individuals are matched for identity of transplantation antigens, especially those encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), and (2) the recipient is sensitized to the transplantation antigens of the donor so that second-set grafts are rejected in a more violent manner1. These rules of transplantation are not obeyed by liver grafts. Orthotopic transplants of liver are never rejected by many strains of rat even though the MHC barrier is crossed2. We have recently shown that instead of sensitizing the recipient, these enduring liver grafts induce a state of donor-specific unresponsiveness in which subsequent grafts of other organs, such as skin, are accepted permanently. It is possible that many strains simply cannot mount a sufficiently vigorous destructive immune response to outstrip the liver's great capacity to repair immune damage and that the systemic unresponsiveness observed is due to diversion of alloreactive lymphocytes with donor specificity into the liver allograft. Manipulations which increase the vigour of the immune response might therefore tip the balance in favour of liver graft rejection and away from induction of unresponsiveness. We have previously measured the degree to which the immune response can be increased by previous exposure to MHC antigens in a quantitative adoptive transfer system3. In the strain combination DA (MHC haplotype RT-1a) grafted to PVG (RT-1c), the lymphocytes of immunized animals are 1,000 times more potent than those of non-immune animals in procuring graft destruction when transferred to irradiated hosts. Unexpectedly, we have now found that liver grafts transplanted into previously immunized rats not only fail to reject but convert the state of heightened reactivity to donor grafts characteristic of immune recipients into one of non-reactivity characteristic of tolerant animals.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Billingham, R. E., Brent, L. & Medawar, P. B. Proc. R. Soc. B 143, 58–60 (1954).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kamada, N., Brons, G. & Davies, H.ff.S. Transplantation 29, 429–431 (1980).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Hall, B. M., Dorsch, S. E. & Roser, B. Transplantation 26, 357–359 (1978); J. exp. Med. 148, 878–890, 891–903 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kamada, N. & Calne, R. Y. Transplantation 28, 47–50 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Calne, R. Y. et al. Nature 233, 472–476 (1969).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Kamada, N., Davies, H.ff.S. & Roser, B. Transplant. Proc. 13, 837–841 (1981).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Bowen, J. E. et al. Transplantation 18, 322–327 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kawamura, H., Mullen, Y. & Hildermann, W. H. Transplantation 30, 302–307 (1980).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kawamura, H. et al. Transplant. Proc. 13, 114–116 (1981).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Homan, W. P. et al. Transplantation 29, 361–366 (1980).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology, ARC Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge, CB2 4AT, UK

    Naoshi Kamada, H.ff.S. Davies & Bruce Roser

Authors
  1. Naoshi Kamada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H.ff.S. Davies
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bruce Roser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kamada, N., Davies, H. & Roser, B. Reversal of transplantation immunity by liver grafting. Nature 292, 840–842 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/292840a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/292840a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing