Prevention of Graft-Versus-Host Disease by Intrathymic Injection of Recipient-Type Splenocytes into Donor

    November 1996 in “ Transplantation ”
    Smita Vaidya, Chu Chi Wang, C. Roorda, Adrian Billings, Srinivas Rajaraman, Jay C. Fish
    TLDR Injecting recipient splenocytes into donors' thymus can prevent graft-versus-host disease.
    The study demonstrated that graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) could be prevented by inducing tolerance in graft donors through intrathymic injection of recipient-type splenocytes. In a model using Lewis rat lymphocytes injected into (Lewis×Brown Norway)F1 rats, five treatment groups were tested. Notably, group 4, which received both antilymphocyte antiserum (ALS) intraperitoneally and an intrathymic allograft, showed no signs of GVHD in all 14 hosts for up to 300 days. This indicated that the thymic route was more effective than the intravenous route for inducing tolerance, and a single ALS injection was crucial for eliminating the donor's antihost response.
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