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Rationalizing the path to a universal graft recipient

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Abstract

The goal of this essay is to take the reader through the logic that would predict universal graft acceptance. The story begins with what we learned from an experiment performed 65 years ago and develops that information in greater depth. The pathway of the analysis leads to the conclusion that controlling the immune system at the level of the T-helper would be the best way to approach a general solution to the problem of graft acceptance.

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Abbreviations

APC:

Antigen presenting cell

ARA:

Associative (linked) Recognition of Antigen

BCR:

B cell antigen receptor

TCR:

T cell antigen receptor

Tsu:

Suppressor T cell

eTh:

Effector T-helper

eTsu:

Effector suppressor T cell

GvHD:

Graft vs host disease

MHC:

Major histocompatibility complex

S-NS:

Self-Nonself

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Funding sources

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Conceptual Immunology Group, The Salk Institute, 10010 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    Melvin Cohn

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  1. Melvin Cohn
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Correspondence to Melvin Cohn.

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Cohn, M. Rationalizing the path to a universal graft recipient. Immunol Res 66, 332–335 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-018-9001-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-018-9001-z

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