Cell-mediated hyperacute rejection. I. Acute, accelerated, and hyperacute reactions.

The morphology of first-set rejection of allogeneic murine skin grafts differs strikingly from that usually seen subsequent to sensitization. In the former, graft epithelium appears to be the primary target; in the latter, the endothelium of graft vessels. This difference suggests that different subsets of effector T cells may be involved. This paper reports an attempt to isolate, for further characterization, a T cell population associated with first-set rejection. The relationships between acute and hyperacute rejection of organ transplants and of murine skin grafts are discussed, as is the possible role of endothelium-specific antigens and receptors sites.