A study of production of cytotoxic antibodies in rats receiving Ag-B disparate cortical or cancellous bone allografts has been made. The results indicate that marrow-containing cancellous grafts elicit a pattern of antibody production which is very similar to that following skin grafts. In contrast, the response to allogeneic spleen cells injected intradermally is more rapid. Grafts of marrow-free cancellous or cortical bone give rise to an antibody response which is delayed in onset. Fresh grafts treated with X-irradiation or grafts preserved by freezing or freeze-drying fail to elicit any antibody production. Grafts which are identical with the host for the major Ag-B antigen system also fail to elicit a humoral immune response. The significance of these findings is discussed.
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