ALLOGRAFT AND XENOGRAFT REJECTION IN C3H SCID MICE - A NEW MODEL FOR THE STUDY OF NON-T CELL GRAFT-REJECTION MECHANISMS/

Comparative cell transfer experiments have revealed that, despite thei r equal immune deficiency, C3H/SCID mice were markedly inferior compar ed with C.B-17/SCID mice in their ability to accept allo geneic and xe nogeneic grafts. Allogeneic C.B-17/SCID bone marrow cells were engraft ed poorly compared with syngeneic C3H/SCID when transplanted into C3H/ SCID recipients, whereas cells of both strains were equally well engra fted into C.B-17/SCID mice. C.B-17/SCID mice were much more permissive for outgrowth of human Burkitt lymphoma (Raji), as well as for Epstei n-Barr virus lymphoma development after transplantation of human perip heral blood lymphocytes. Human skin grafts were accepted by the C.B-17 /SCID SCID mice but were promptly rejected by the C3H/SCID SCID mice. The resistance to human Raji cells could be adaptively transferred by infusion of C3H/SCID splenocytes into C.B-17/SCID mice. Because the C. B-17/SCID and C3H/SCID mice equally lack both T and B lymphocytes, the latter may provide a relevant model for studies of non-T mechanisms o f allograft or xenograft rejection.