Limited T cell response to donor MHC peptides during allograft rejection. Implications for selective immune therapy in transplantation.

Previously, we have demonstrated that during allograft rejection, MHC molecules of the donor are processed and presented to alloreactive CD4+ T lymphocytes in the form of peptides associated with the MHC class II molecules of the recipient. There is an increasing body of evidence that this indirect pathway of allorecognition may play a major role in allograft rejection. Herein, we have used a series of overlapping MHC peptides progressing along the sequence of the donor MHC molecule in single residue steps. We have mapped all potential MHC Ag determinants to which T cell responses could be generated after s.c. injection of allogeneic splenocytes. We have shown that splenic T cell proliferative responses to the beta 1 domains of donor Ak, Ad, and A(s) mouse MHC class II molecules were directed toward a single immunodominant determinant in each of three donor/recipient combinations. Interestingly, after allogeneic spleen cell transplantation, an additional determinant on donor MHC could be detected in the draining lymph nodes. This result shows that the fine specificity of T cell response to donor transplantation Ags can differ between lymphoid organs. Then, we investigated whether limitation of T cell response to donor MHC peptides applies to the clinical situation of a graft. We have shown that after an allogeneic skin graft, self-restricted alloreactive T cells proliferated to the same determinant on the donor MHC molecule. These results indicate that immune intervention, such as tolerance induction to the dominant T cell determinant on donor MHC molecules, may be developed for the prevention of allograft rejection.