Rejection of stable cultured allografts by active or passive (adoptive) immunization.

Injection of live lymphoid cells of donor strain or immune cells of recipient strain resulted in rejection of previously stable cultured mouse thyroid allografts. The results are interpreted to indicate that a cultured graft is relatively ineffective in activating recipient lymphocytes but is capable of maintaining them in an activated state and serving as a target for them once they are activated.

Effect of oxygen pressure during culture on survival of mouse thyroid allografts.

A marked increase in the percentage of mouse thyroids that retained function 20 days after transplantation across a major histocompatibility barrier and the percentage that lacked generalized infiltration was observed when the grafts received hyperbaric oxygen during a 4-day culture period. Perfusion of the donor animal before thyroidotomy and the addition of fetal calf serum to the culture medium did not have a significant effect on graft survival, but the percentage of grafts lacking generalized infiltration was slightly increased by the addition of hydrocortisone to the culture medium.

The significance of bronchial atrophy.

In a 4-year period, 196 lungs from patients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were examined postmortem for the presence of atrophy in segmental and subsegmental bronchi. As a result of simultaneous postmortem spirometry, cinefluorobronchography and partitioning of airways resistance, plus later assessment of anatomic emphysema, bronchial atrophy emerges as only one of at least three factors usually cooperating in production of abnormal expiratory airway collapse. In selected cases, bronchial atrophy appears to be an important contributor to expiratory airways obstruction.