Influence of rCD44v4-v7 on antihost and antidonor reactivity after reconstitution of irradiated allogeneic BALB/c mice. Lethally irradiated BALB/c mice were reconstituted with 5 × 106 BMC from NTG and rCD44v4-v7 TG C57BL/6 mice. Mice received, in addition, either a control IgG1 or anti-rCD44v6 (200 μg twice per week). TC, SC, and LNC were harvested after 2 to 6 weeks. Cells from 3 mice per group were pooled and were cultured in the presence of irradiated lymphocytes from BALB/c (host) and C57BL/6 (donor) mice, respectively. After 3 days of culture and the addition of 3H-thymidine during the last 16 hours, cells were harvested and incorporation of 3H-thymidine was determined in a β-counter. Background values were subtracted (cpm in the absence of an antigenic stimulus). Mean cpm ± SD of triplicate cultures are shown; significant differences between NTG and TG BMC (P ≤ .01) are indicated by an asterisk. The experiment was repeated two times showing similar results.
