In this episode, we're talking transplantation: Why is it so damned hard to transfer tumors between mice? Why do we have to go to extraordinary lengths to transplant kidneys between humans?
To serve as our guide, we go through two papers – A historical paper on the emergence of MHC in the immunological field, and a recent paper describing some cool tricks that immunologists are using to more effectively transplant organs between patients – without immune suppression. Along the way, we discuss tumor transplantation in inbred mice, Tasmanian devil face cancer, transplant rejection, the legacy of the Cavendish family (think banana), and just a touch of T cell biology. Happy listening!
Links:
George D Snell and George F Higgens, "Alleles at the histocompatability-2 locus in the mouse as determined by tumor transplantation."Genetics (1951)
Tatsuo Kawai et.al. "HLA-Mismatched renal transplantation without maintenance immunosuppression." New England Journal of Medicine (2008)