PROLONGED SURVIVAL OF HEART ALLOGRAFTS TRANSPLANTED IN RATS AND RABBITS FOLLOWING PREGNANCY

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Abstract
SUMMARY Heart transplantation was performed between strains of rats known to differ at the major histocompatibility locus. Female rats grafted following one intrastrain pregnancy rejected rapidly, whereas interstrain pregnancies gave rise to prolonged (maternal × paternal) F1 heart allograft survival when rats were transplanted during late pregnancy or postpartum. In one interstrain pregnancy combination, third-party grafts also showed prolonged survival. Hearts transplanted from young outbred rabbits to their mothers were accepted specifically and for prolonged periods. Skin grafts exchanged in postpartum rats instead of hearts were rejected acutely, but if transplanted simultaneously with hearts, skin grafts sometimes showed delayed rejection. The postpartum heart acceptance could be partially abolished by preimmunizing the recipient before or during gestation.

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