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BACKGROUND: The precise role that CD8+ T cells play in the rejection and acceptance of different types of allograft is unclear and has been shown to vary between donor-recipient combinations. METHODS: The response of adoptively transferred CD8+ T cells reactive to the donor alloantigen H2Kb was examined after transplantation of H2Kb liver, kidney, and heart grafts in mice. RESULTS: After transfer of 6 x 10(6) alloreactive CD8+ T cells to T-cell depleted syngeneic mice spontaneous long-term acceptance of liver grafts was observed, whereas kidney and heart grafts were acutely rejected. Within 5 days of liver transplantation, we found that the entire H2Kb-reactive T-cell pool was stimulated to proliferate and differentiate into memory or effector cells that were detectable within lymphoid tissues as well as the liver graft itself. However, despite the generation of effector or memory T cells, liver allografts were accepted, which correlated with the exhaustion or deletion of such cells. In contrast, although activation and proliferation of H2Kb-reactive CD8+ T cells was observed after transplantation of heart or kidney grafts, unactivated, H2Kb-reactive CD8+ T cells were still present in the spleen even long term. Interestingly, differences in the effector function of liver and kidney graft infiltrating donor-reactive CD8+ T cells were not detected after adoptive transfer into immunodeficient mice, despite a reduction in Th1-type cytokines within liver grafts. CONCLUSIONS: The rapid and extensive initial activation and differentiation of donor-reactive CD8+ T cells that occurs after liver transplantation leads to clonal exhaustion or deletion of the alloreactive CD8+ T-cell repertoire resulting in spontaneous tolerance induction.

Original publication

DOI

10.1097/TP.0b013e31816dd64a

Type

Journal article

Journal

Transplantation

Publication Date

15/05/2008

Volume

85

Pages

1339 - 1347

Keywords

Animals, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Cell Differentiation, Graft Rejection, Graft Survival, Kidney Transplantation, Liver Transplantation, Lymphocyte Transfusion, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Inbred CBA, Models, Animal, Transplantation, Homologous, Transplantation, Isogeneic