IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES OF ALLOGRAFTS OF TEETH IN INBRED HAMSTERS

The antigenic status of dental tissues was studied in inbred hamsters. Molar teeth from CB hamsters were transplanted s.o. to MHA hamsters; autografts and isografts also were performed in the MHA animals. With the exception of four allografts, the cells of all grafts were assumed to be nonviable. Lymph nodes which drained the allografts, viable and nonviable, showed no increase in numbers of pyroninophilic large lymphoid cells. Animals bearing allografts gave no cutaneous reaction following intradermal injection of epidermal or lymphoid cells carrying CB antigens. Histological study of the grafts revealed no evidence of an immunological rejection. Therefore, it is concluded that the hard tissues of hamster teeth (and possibly the soft tissues also) either were not antigenic or were so weakly antigenic that an immune response could not be detected by the methods used. The fact that, in the strain combination CB → MHA, there is a difference of only one strong histocompatibility gene lends further support to the theory of low histocompatibility requirements for teeth. © 1969 by The Williams and Wilkins Co.