Effect of organ culture on the survival of thyroid allografts in mice.

Mouse thyroid can be maintained in organ culture for 4 weeks. Uncultured BALB/c thyroid is rejected 10-15 days after transplantation under the kidney capsule of H-2 disparate recipients (C57BL, CBA). Organ culture of thyroid tissue prior to transplantation prolongs allograft survival. This prolongation of graft survival increases with increasing time in culture and 80-90% of BALB/c thyroids maintained in culture for 26 days survive in allogeneic CBA recipients for a 60- to 70-day test period. These allografts show normal function as measured by 125I uptake, and show no histological evidence of chronic rejection. Cultured allografts can be rejected if the host's immune system is stimulated with viable leukocytes of donor origin. Host animals carrying a functioning allograft are not tolerant of donor tissues and will reject a second uncultured allograft from the same donor strain.