Reply to Hamburger et al.

CELLULAR

7, 184 (1973)

IMMUNOLOGY

REPLY The study

of Hamburger

these authors ditional

TO

and his colleagues

tested their donor-recipient

parameter

to their

study

ET AL.

HAMBURGER

which

is of great

interest.

The fact that

pairs prior to transplantation

adds an ad-

was missing

Overall,

from

our own.

we

would feel that the two studies are very much in agreement. In our original tions

communication

( 1) , we found that among

(in which there was almost certainly

bility complex

in each case),

the recipient’s

lymphocytes

donor-with

failure.

showed

randomly

a very low response

controls

demonstrating

This low reactivity

there was in each case a substantial chosen individual.

his colleagues

are in general

for the major

and much higher

with ours, although

results,

seem improper

pairs

(Numbers

to include

and thus would not be expected for reasons

the frequency

given

of a decreased

of Hamburger

and

by the authors. response

theirs are more convincis available.

in MLC.

If the other

course,

for an enhanced

different response

histocompatibility

Case 2 must also be

cases are considered,

to the specific donor

is not significantly

In analyzing

of donor-recipient

for the major

to stimulate

series (one out of three) they can analyze

of a

consideration

3, 4, 5, and 6) who are identical

was

to lymphocytes

It would seem to us that the findings agreement

in which

cells of the

the donor lymphocytes;

response

their

excluded

histocompati-

that this low reactivity

MLC data prior to transplantation

complex

to stimulating

was only against

ing in that the original it would

combina-

there were three cases of the 12 we studied,

all the appropriate

not a technical

a difference

parent-child

stimulating

then

cells in their

from our own. In addition, after transplantation

of

which we

could not do. Similar

findings

using a different The question

have been

obtained

by the Hellstroms

and

their

co-workers,

assay (2). whether

the MLC test can be used as a measure

tral tolerance

is one which certainly

us, however,

that

specific

absence of immunocompetent

cannot

nonreactivity

be critically

in the MLC

of specific and cen-

resolved ; it would test is one measure

seem to of the

cells. FRITZ L. BACH MARILYN L. BACH

REFERENCES 1. Bach, M. L., Engstrom, M. A., Bach, F. H., Etheredge, E. E., and Najarian, J. S., Specific tolerance in human kidney allograft recipients. Cell. Imnzunol. 3, 161-166, 1972. 2. Pierce, G. E., Quadracci, L. J., Tremann, J. A., Moe, R. E., Striker, G. E., Hellstrom, I., Hellstrom, K. E., and Marchioro, T. L., Studies on cellular and humoral immune factors in human renal transplantation. Ann. Surg. 174, 609-619, 1971. 184 1973 by Academic Press, Copyright AI1 rights oQ reproduction in any form