Light microscopic and immunohistochemical features in serial biopsies of epidermal versus dermal allografts.

The local immune response to allograft dermis and epidermis was studied in a rat skin-graft model. Biopsies taken at varying times after transplantation were analyzed using routine light microscopy and a panel of monoclonal antibodies. The dermis appeared to be spared by the rejection process, whereas the epithelium and adnexal elements of the dermis were destroyed. The persistence of dermis transplanted across major histoincompatibilities may allow it to be useful in reconstructing large skin losses.