The Immune Response in Homologous Transplantation

Part I discusses the immunogenetic basis of transplantation incompatibility and the nature of the immune response which adversely affects incompatible tissue transplants. Part II describes attempts to detect specific reactions between tissue extracts and antisera by means of light-scattering measurements. The few positive reactions obtained tend to support, rather than refute, previous claims made for individually specific serum antibodies formed during the rejection of transplants. Part III deals with an experimental demonstration of the destruction of mouse tissue by immune spleen cells, using [in vivo] cultured diffusion chambers. The results support the hypothesis that immune cells directly initiate the destruction of transplants. In Part IV reactions between immune cells and isolated transplantation antigens are studied [in vitro]. It is possible to react immune cells as well as the transplantation antigens with fluorescent labels without abolishing their immunological effectiveness. With a biological test as the basis, evidence is described that transplantation antigens are removed from solution when suspended with immune cells [in vitro]. In Part V a method is presented for describing the uptake, distribution and binding of fluorescent labeled molecules using polarization of fluorescence as an indication of the motion of molecules and their interaction in the intracellular environment. Part VI describes a simplified test for mouse isohemagglutinating antibodies, which only requires purified hyaluronic acid and saline as the suspension medium. Part VII describes some details of the structure of elastin and attempts to explain the immunological tolerance of elastin and its soluble derivatives in terms of its mobile molecular structure