Antigen nonspecific rejection of allogeneic skin implants in the anterior chamber of sensitized rats.

As expected, skin implants placed in the anterior chamber of the eye of rats systemically sensitized with alloantigen from the antigen specific (second party) donor implants are rapidly rejected, indicating that the anterior chamber offers no barrier to the efferent immune response. However, during our studies it was noted that antigen nonspecific (third party) skin implants placed in the anterior chamber of the eye of similarly sensitized rats were also rejected in accelerated fashion. In all of the donor-recipient rat strain combinations tested which were sensitized by orthotopic skin grafts, third party skin implants placed in the anterior chamber of the eye were rejected within 14 days. A similar rejection pattern was noted in the anterior chamber of rats that were sensitized by the foot pad injection of graded doses of RT1 incompatible spleen cells. Rats sensitized with mouse skin grafts also rejected RT1 histoincompatible allogeneic implants within the anterior chamber, a result not noted in rats sensitized with either dog, rabbit, or pig skin grafts.