Alloreactive T cell responses and acute rejection of single class II MHC-disparate heart allografts are under strict regulation by CD4+CD25+ T cells

Skin but not vascularized cardiac allografts from B6.H-2(bm12) mice are acutely rejected by C57BL/6 recipients in response to the single class II MHC disparity. The underlying mechanisms preventing acute rejection of B6.H-2(bm12) heart allografts by C57BL/6 recipients were investigated. B6.H-2(bm12) heart allografts induced low levels of alloreactive effector T cell priming in C57BL/6 recipients, and this priming was accompanied by low-level cellular infiltration into the allograft that quickly resolved. Recipients with long-term-surviving heart allografts were unable to reject B6.H-2(bm12) skin allografts, suggesting potential down-regulatory mechanisms induced by the cardiac allografts. Depletion of CD25(+) cells from C57BL/6 recipients resulted in 15-fold increases in alloreactive T cell priming and in acute rejection of B6.H-2(bm12) heart grafts. Similarly, reconstitution of B6.Rag(-/-) recipients with wild-type C57BL/6 splenocytes resulted in acute rejection of B6.H-2(bm12) heart grafts only if CD25(+) cells were depleted. These results indicate that acute rejection of single class II MHC-disparate B6.H-2(bm12) heart allografts by C57BL/6 recipients is inhibited by the emergence of CD25(+) regulatory cells that restrict the clonal expansion of alloreactive T cells.