Disease in the Rat A Relationship between Allo- and Autoimmunity

Conventional allogeneic bone marrow transplantation after myeloablation can prevent experimental autoimmunity and has been proposed as treatment for humans. However, trace populations of donor hematolymphoid cells persisting in solid organ allograft recipients have been associated in some circumstances with therapeutic effects similar to replace-ment of the entire bone marrow. We therefore examined whether inducing hematolymphoid microchimerism with-out myeloablation could confer the ability to resist mercuric chloride (HgCl 2)-induced autoimmunity. Brown-Norway (BN) rats were pretreated with a synge-neic or allogeneic bone marrow infusion under transient FK506 immunosuppression before receiving HgCl