Experimental models for prevention of graft-versus-host reaction in bone marrow transfution. III. Reversible and irreversible differentiation of lymphocytes destined for cytotoxicity to effector cells for splenomegaly.

When lymphoid cells were obtained from AKR donors 12 h after a treatment with C57BL/L cells in complete Freund's adjuvant and transferred to (AKR X C57BL/6) F1 mice, splenomegaly in F1 recipients was augmented but cytotoxicity was suppressed. The suppression of cytotoxicity was antigen-specific. When cell transfer was carried out at stages as early as 3 or 6 h after the treatment of donors, cytotoxicity was enhanced but splenomegaly was suppressed. Irreversible deviation of immune response from the generation of cytotoxicity to the development of splenomegaly appears to occur within 12 h after such a treatment of donors.