Unimpaired first-set and second-set skin graft rejection in agammaglobulinemic mice.

B cell and antibody-deprived B10.BR chronically suppressed by rabbit antimouse IgM serum rejected first-set allogeneic skin grafts as rapidly as control mice. We confirmed this finding using BALB/c mice born from B cell-deprived mothers and chronically treated with anti-IgM antibodies. Such mice had previously been shown to be agammaglobulinemic except for the suppressing monoclonal rat antimouse IgM antibody in their serum. These results indicate that in mice neither first nor accelerated second-set skin graft rejection reactions depend upon preexisting natural or specifically induced antibodies.