Immune Response of Lymph Nodes to Skin Allografts: Effects of Proteolytic Enzymes and of an Inhibitor of the Proteolysis

Previous studies have defined the role of activation of protease and of proteolytic enzymes on survival of skin allografts (Dukes and Blocker, 1952; Hardin et al., 1957; Notti and Spadaro, 1960; Scupola and Laurentaci, 1963). A fall in the activity of tryptic inhibitor in the initial phase of the rejection process taking place after kidney homografts has also been described (Tyler et al., 1962), along with a protective action of a polypeptide acting as a protease inhibitor in the survival of skin allografts (Bertelli et al., 1963; Laurentaci et al., 1965). The purpose of the present study is to define the exact and comparative influence of activation and inhibition of organic proteolysis in the immunological reaction of the lymph node to a skin allograft.