Erythrocytes in human transplantation: effects of pretreatment with ABO group-specific antigens.

Erythrocyte group antigens A and B can act as potent and group-specific transplantation antigens in man. ABO group-incompatible recipients pretreated with such antigens have rejected skin allografts obtained from donors incompatible for the same antigens in an accelerated (4-5 days) or white graft manner. Skin grafts applied to the same recipients from ABO-compatible donors were accorded first-set survival times. Intact erythrocyte suspensions and antigens isolated from hog (A substance) and horse (B substance) stomachs, were equally capable of inducing this type of allograft sensitivity. The latter observation broadens the spectrum of heterologous antigens capable of inducing allograft sensitivity in the mammalian host and provides a readily available, heat-stable, and water-soluble source of antigens for further studies of allograft rejection mechanisms in man.