CROSS-REACTIONS TO SKIN HOMOGRAFTS IN MAN *

A considerable array of evidence has been se-cured to suggest that the tempo and intensity of the host's immune response to tissue transplants are conditioned by the degree of histocompatibility existing between the individuals studied (1-4). Although this subject has received a great deal of attention in animal species, it has not been studied extensively in man (5-7). The present report is concerned with the infl-enice of genetic disparity upon the fate of skin homografts in man. The results of a 9-year study of 147 skin homografts performed in a group of unrelated normal subjects are presented and dis-cussed in the light of observed variations in the individual specificity of the rejection reaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS Selection of skin homograft donors and recipients. The subj ects were students and house officers of the Third and Fourth Medical and Surgical Divisions (Ne