Mechanism of inhibition of adoptive transfer of tuberculin sensitivity in acute uremia.

Cell-mediated immunity is reduced in uremia, but the mechanism of this inhibition is poorly understood. To determine the site of inhibition a study of adoptive transfer of cell-mediated immunity was undertaken. Strain 13 guinea pigs were made uremic by ureteral ligation. Lymph node cells were isolated and transferred in the following three ways: Group 1: tuberculin sensitive nonuremic donors to nonimmune nonuremic recipients; Group 2: tuberculin sensitive nonuremic donors to nonimmune uremic recipients; Group 3: tuberculin sensitive uremic donors to nonimmune nonuremic recipients. There was no difference in the skin test responses of the transfer recipients in Groups 1 and 3, even though the uremic donors in Group 3 had lost their skin test reactivity. Transfer of tuberculin sensitivity was not successful in Group 2. These results indicate that the uremic state inhibits previously established skin test reactivity but does not prevent sensitized T lymphocytes from transferring cellular immunity.