Induction of transplantation tolerance in guinea pigs by spleen allografts. I. Operative techniques and clinical results.

Four hundred and ten heterotopic spleen transplants were performed in inbred guinea pigs of strains 2 and 13 whose major histocompatibility complex differs only in the I region and which rapidly reject reciprocal skin allografts. Spleen allografts from strain 13 to strain 2 survived throughout the lifetime of the hosts, whereas spleen allografts from strain 2 to strain 13 were rejected within 3 weeks. Animals not rejecting their spleen transplants were specifically tolerant of donor strain skin allografts. Strain 2 recipients of strain 13 spleen grafts had a surprising high mortality from graft-versus-host disease which peaked at 6 weeks after transplantation.