Donor-specific transfusion in the nude rat prolongs survival of subsequently transplanted hamster cardiac xenografts.

XENOGRAFfTUMORS have indefinite survival when transplanted into atbymic nude rats or mice. However, nude rats reject vascularized hamster cardiac xenografts in tempo (3 to 4 days) similar to that of immunocompetent rats.13 This "slow-motion" hyperacute rejection witnessed in the nude rat is thought to be mediated by a T cell-independent, but antibodyand complement-dependent mechanism(s ).1 In this study, we investigated whether prior exposure of nude rat recipients to hamster xenoantigens in the form of donor-specific transfusion (DST), would modulate the humoral response thus allowing for prolonged survival of subsequently transplanted cardiac xenografts.