[Antigen-specific rosette inhibition test with autologous serum--a possibility for the detection of blocking factors in chronic rejection of allogeneic orthotopic kidney transplants].

After allogeneic renal transplantation in 26 female pigs the kinetics of the immunological reactivity have been investigated in order to diagnose a rejection crisis. The animals were not treated with immunosuppressive substances. The antigen specific rosette test is an useful parameter for estimation of immune reactions against a graft. Moreover, the inhibition of this test by autologous serum taken in the course of a chronic graft rejection is caused by blocking factors. Therefore this inhibition test would be suitable for an exact determination of specific immune reaction against the graft. By exclusion of false positive results by means of the rosette reaction test a high significant correlation between the antigen specific rosette formation and the clinical symptoms of the rejection could be observed. As long as blocking factors are protecting the graft against activities of immunocompetent cells respectively their effector molecules, recipient serum is able to inhibit the rosette formation. On the other hand a strong increase of rosette forming cells in a pig whose serum does not show an inhibitory activity is correlated with clinical symptoms of a rejection.