Suppression of NK-cell alloreactivity by increasing the dose of donor BMCs. T and NKT-cell-deficient C57BL/6 nu/nu mice were treated with an infusion of 106 (n = 5), 107 (n = 5), or 108 (n = 5) BALB/c nu/nu BMCs at day 0. At day 28 an in vivo cytotoxicity assay was performed, and peripheral-blood samples were collected 2 days later for FACS analysis. The mice treated with 106 BALB/c nu/nu BMCs eliminated 99.7% ± 0.3% of the CFSE-labeled BALB/c nu/nu cells within 2 days. The mice treated with 107 BALB/c nu/nu BMCs eliminated 96.8% ± 2.9% of the BALB/c nu/nu cells within 2 days, whereas the group given transplants with 108 BALB/c nu/nu BMCs eliminated 64.6% ± 32.8% of the BALB/c nu/nu cells within 2 days. The displayed histograms are representative of each group.
