Cell-mediated cytotoxicity results from, but may not be critical for, primary allograft rejection.

Tumor cells insensitive to lysis through the Fas and TNF pathways were injected either subcutaneously or into the peritoneal cavities of allogeneic perforin-less (P0) and perforin wild-type (P2) mice. In three of four cases, the tumors were rejected equally rapidly in both strains of mice. Rejection was accompanied by vigorous in vitro cytotoxicity in P2, but not in P0 mice. The rapid clearance of allografted cells in mice where all three known cytolytic pathways are seriously compromised raises important questions about the involvement of cell-mediated cytotoxicity, as defined by current assay techniques, in primary allograft rejection.