Effect of a single transfusion of donor-specific and nonspecific blood on skin allograft survival in mice.

The effect of a single transfusion of donor-specific or nonspecific blood on skin allograft survival was studied in ALS-treated mice. In the weak H-2-incompatible C3H/He to B6AF1 combination, transfusion of outbred CF1 blood induced significant prolongation of C3H/He skin graft survival when given over a wide interval of days between transfusion and skin grafting. In contrast, donor-specific C3H/He blood was effective only when given 10 days before grafting. Transfusion of either red blood cells or lymphocytes separated from CF1 or C3H/He whole blood also prolonged C3H/He skin graft survival. In the relatively strong H-2 incompatible DBA/2 to B6AF1 combination, significant prolongation of DBA/2 skin grafts was induced only by transfusion of donor-specific DBA/2- and H-2-compatible BALB/c blood. A single transfusion of C3H/He or CF1 blood failed to prolong DBA/2 skin graft survival. In the strong H-2-incompatible DBA/1 to B6AF1 combination, donor-specific DBA/1 blood was effective in prolonging DBA/1 skin graft survival. These results demonstrate that the effectiveness of donor-specific or nonspecific blood is dependent on (1) the degree of H-2 incompatibility of donor-recipient pairs and (2) timing of the blood transfusion relative to skin grafting.