Costimulation Pathways in Host Immune Responses to Allogeneic Hepatocytes1,2

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the role of the CD28/B7 (blocked by CTLA4Ig) and CD40/CD40L (blocked by MR1) costimulation pathways on in vivo host T-cell- mediated immune responses to allogeneic hepatocytes. METHODS: Survival of allogeneic hepatocytes (H-2q) in C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice untreated or treated with MR1, CTLA4Ig, L6 (control fusion protein), or a combination of MR1 and CTLA4Ig fusion protein was determined. RESULTS: Median survival time for hepatocellular allografts was 10, 84, 10, 10, and 84 days in untreated (n= 10), MR1-treated (n=7) (P<.0001), CTLA4Ig-treated (n=7) (P=0.02), L6-treated (n=3) (P, not significant), and the combination of MR1- and CTLA4Ig-treated (n=6) (P=0.0003) groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Host treatment with MR1, but not CTLA4Ig, prolonged hepatocellular allograft survival. These data suggest that CD28/B7 interactions appear relatively unimportant, whereas CD40/CD40L interactions provide critical costimulator signals for T-cell-dependent immune responses to allogeneic hepatocytes.