ANALYSIS OF MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX IN SYRIAN-HAMSTERS .3. CELLULAR AND HUMORAL IMMUNITY TO ALLOANTIGENS

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 118  (3) , 832-839
Abstract
Among the genetic loci incorporated into the major histocompatibility complex, in every species studied there are prominent genes encoding for strong histocompatibility determinants that elicit detectable alloantibody responses and which are the chief antigenic targets of cell-mediated cytotoxicity reactions. The K and D regions of the H-2 complex in the mouse and the A, B, and C regions of the HL-A complex in man are representative examples. Syrian hamsters, as described here, do not make alloantibodies to antigens of this type, and show little in vitro cell-mediated cytotoxicity to target cells putatively bearing these antigens. Since hamsters are quite capable of discriminating analogous antigenic differences in xenogeneic species, and xenogeneic sources cannot distinguish immunologically between the antigens encoded by the 2 hamster major histocompatibility alleles, Hm-1a and Hm-1b, the hamster strains used in this report are serologically indistinguishable by the methods used here. They differ for determinants which elicit T [thymus-derived] cell-mediated responses, as evidenced by their ability to express acute skin graft rejection, mixed lymphocyte reactivity, graft-vs.-host reactions and cell-mediated cytotoxicity reactions. Such alloreactivity may reflect a mutation at an SD locus, affecting antigenic sites recognized only by T cells; alternatively, the available hamster strains may be SD identical, but differ at loci similar to the I region loci in mice. Syrian hamsters may fail to properly express the genes coding for SD [serologically determined] determinants.

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