Serial Transfer of Donor Marrow in Radiation Mouse Chimaeras

Summary

By studying the immunological behaviour of 50-day-old homologous chimaeras it has been established that some alteration has occurred in the donor marrow as a result of its persistence in the irradiated host.

In an attempt to understand the nature of this alteration, bone marrow from 50-day-old homologous chimaeras was serially passaged in new hosts of both host and donor strains, previously irradiated with an x-ray dose of LD₉₉. The efficiency of the transferred marrow in protecting the secondary and tertiary hosts is compared, and the results are discussed in relation to tolerance, reversion and changes in antigenicity.