MHC class II (MHCII) genes have been implicated in the regulation of T lymphocyte responses. However, the mechanism of MHCII-driven regulation remains unknown. Matching for MHCII between donors and recipients of allografts favors regulatory T cell tolerance to transplants and provides a unique opportunity to study this regulation. In this study, we investigated MHCII regulation using transfer o...

The resemblance of the mammalian fetus to a homograft has raised the question as to why it is not rejected by the mother in the manner of a homograft. That portion of the fetus' genetic makeup which is derived from the father should afford sufficient histoincompatibility to evoke an immunologic response in the mother. I t was at one time suggested that the onset of labor might result from the d...

OBJECTIVE Mitral homograft (MH) can represent an interesting alternative for valve replacement in the young. However, concerns have been expressed about the durability of valve allografts in children. We report our experience with MH replacement in young patients. METHODS From 1993 to 1997, 13 young patients aged 3-25 years (mean 15+/-6 years) underwent total mitral valve (MV) replacement wit...

One hundred sixty-nine patients underwent replacement of the aortic valve with an aortic valve homograft; of these patients 17 had concomitant commissurotomy or annuloplasty for an associated mitral valve lesion. Homografts were prepared by sterilization with beta-propiolactone solution and stored in Hanks' solution, or were prepared by sterilization with irradiation and stored at -70 C. Operat...

Mice or rats that have been rendered tolerant of skin homografts from an alien donor strain furnish the basis of a very sensitive and objective test system for investigating the competence of cellular inocula from specifically immunized isologous donors to transfer sensitivity adoptively. By means of this test system it has been shown that immunologically "activated" cells, capable of transferr...