Cells involved in cell-mediated and transplantation immunity in the rabbit. I. The noninvolvement of the bone marrow antigen reactive cell in the transplant rejection reaction.

Rabbits were subjected to 800 r total body irradiation to render them immunoincopetent with respect to the humoral immune response. These rabbits were, however, only slightly less capable of rejecting skin allografts than nonirradiated rabbits. Furthermore, the administration of normal or specifically "primed" bone marrow cells (bone marrow obtained from a rabbit injected one to two days previously with the spleen cells obtained from the prospective skin donor) did not enhance or inhibit the graft rejection reaction. It is concluded that the cells mediating the humoral immune response are different from those mediating the cellular immune response.