Coupled Skin Grafting for Use in the Studies of the Rejection Mechanism

Mice are convenient for the elucidation of the mechanism of skin graft rejection because they are genetically well defined and economically available. Recently, the responsiveness of the T cell subset to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II antigen has been analyzed and an immunohistochemical method has also been developed. For re-evaluation of the mechanism of skin graft rejection, we endeavored to develop more useful techniques of murine skin grafting. We implanted a couple of fullthickness skin pieces of 0.8 cm diameter to the graft beds prepared in the dorsal part of a recipient. Allogeneic coupled skin grafts were rejected at almost the same date and there was no difference in the survival days between the biopsied and non-biopsied groups. By the "coupled skin grafting" it became possible to observe one graft for skin rejection and analyze the other histologically and immunohistochemically