Different efficiency of mercurascan in allograft survival prolongation in male and female mice.

The efficiency of mercurascan on prolongation of skin allograft survival was found to depend on the sex of experimental animals. Long-term treatment of the recipients by MSC in the mouse strain combination B10--B10.LP (donor X recipient, difference in non-H-2 loci) was more efficient in females than in males. The immunosuppressive effect of MSC was weak. MSC had no effect on the survival time of skin or heart allografts in a strain combination with limited H-2 differences [B10.D2--M(504)]. The effect of MSC on the cell membrane was followed in vitro by measurement of the rate of H-2 antigen redistribution on lymphoid cells of animals treated in vivo by MSC. The rate of redistribution on lymphoid cells from MSC-treated females was decreased; no effect was observed in the case of cells from treated males.