Humoral transplantation antibodies play a role in protracted rejection of murine renal allografts.

Murine renal allografts were studied using (C57BL/6J x A/J)F1 mice as recipients and DBA/2 mice as donors. In this strain combination, protracted rejection was noted in that the circulation was maintained in the graft for over 10 weeks. In all grafts examined after 3 weeks, mononuclear cell infiltrates were noted; in addition, all grafts had immune deposits, apparently containing transplantation antibodies, in glomeruli, tubuli and vessels. These results stressed the role of humoral immunity in protracted renal allograft rejection.