Proportions of T- and B-lymphocytes in preauricular lymph nodes and aqueous humour of rabbits showing corneal graft reactions.

We wished to determine the proportions of T- and B-lymphocytes in the preauricular lymph nodes and the anterior chambers of rabbits during various stages of graft reactions. The animals received unilateral orthotopic corneal xenografts or skin allografts on the ear. The target cells were identified with the use of fluorescein-tagged antisera specific for rabbit T- and B-lymphocytes. As compared with the percentage in the rabbits that had not received a graft, in both the xenograft and the allograft recipients the percentage of T-lymphocytes in the preauricular lymph nodes during the graft reaction did not change on the side that received the graft but was higher on the side that did not receive a graft. In the recipients of the corneal grafts, as the severity of the graft reaction increased, the percentage of B-lymphocytes in the preauricular lymph nodes on the side that received the graft and the percentage of T-lymphocytes in the lymphoid cell population infiltrating the anterior chamber of the grafted eye increased. The possible mechanisms underlying these phenomena are discussed.