ANTIBODY-FORMATION IN THE TRANSPLANTED SPLEEN - A SIMPLE METHOD OF SPLENIC TRANSPLANTATION IN THE RAT USING THE CUFF TECHNIQUE

To study whether transplanted spleens produce antibodies or not, a sim plified model of spleen transplantation using the cuff technique was d eveloped. The whole spleen with vascular pedicles was implanted in the syngeneic DA (RT1(a)) rat combination, using the cuff technique appli ed to the renal artery and vein of the recipient. The functions of the grafted spleen were tested by antibody formation-titers of antibody i n the serum and plaque-forming cells in the graft spleen against xenog eneic [BALB/c (H-2(d)) mouse] antigen. The grafted spleens included a number of plaque-forming cells, as did the host spleen. This report sh ows direct evidence that vascularized splenic grafts produced antibodi es. The technique is described in detail. (C) 1997 Wiiey-Liss, Inc.