Neonatal tolerance induction across H-2 mutational disparity: induction and specificity of tolerance.

Mutational disparities derived from alleles of the H-2K and H-2D loci vary widely in their ability to induce neonatal tolerance. The more subtle mutations, such as Kbm5 and Kbm8, proved to be excellent tolerogens, but the Kbm3 mutant (M505) turned out to be the poorest tolerogen yet studied of all H-2 alloantigens. By challenging tolerant animals with skin grafts from related mutants, it was found that expression of tolerance was highly specific. Although a minority of tolerant animals failed to discriminate between the Kb, Kbm5 and Kbm8 antigens, they never failed to discern Kb, Kbm1 and Kbm3 as distinctly different alloantigens.