Specific and nonspecific resistance to local graft-versus-host reaction in F1 hybrids pretreated intravenously with parent-strain spleen cells. I. Two distinct mechanisms

B6D2F1 hybrid mice pretreated i.v. with 5 X 10(7) spleen cells from B6 donors seven days earlier (B6-pretreated B6D2F1 hybrids) develop resistance to local GVHR induced by the subcutaneous injection of spleen cells of either B6 (GVHR-B6) or D2 (GVHR-D2) origin. This resistance has specific and a nonspecific components that concern the GVHR-B6 and the GVHR-D2, respectively. The two types of resistance to GVHR are neither induced under the same conditions nor mediated by the same mechanism. Specific resistance to GVHR is observed in B6D2F1 hybrids pretreated with unseparated, anti-Lyt-1.2+C' treated or 1000 rads-irradiated B6 cells, but not in B6D2F1 hybrids pretreated with anti-Thy-1.2+C' or anti Lyt-2.2+C'-treated B6 cells. In contrast, nonspecific resistance to GVHR is induced only by pretreatment with unseparated B6 cells. Treatment of B6 cells with anti-Thy-1.2, anti-Lyt-1.2, or anti-Lyt-2.2 moAb plus C', or their irradiation at 1000 rads completely abolishes their capacity to induce the nonspecific resistance to GVHR. Moreover, specific resistance to GVHR can be transferred to normal B6D2F1 mice by injection of nylon-adherent, anti-Thy-1.2+C'-treated or 2000-rads-irradiated, but not unseparated or nylon-nonadherent, B6-pretreated B6D2F1 spleen cells. Treatment of nylon-adherent B6-pretreated B6D2F1 cells with anti H-2d antiserum plus C' does not affect their capacity to transfer specific resistance to GVHR. Nonspecific resistance to GVHR can be transferred by unseparated, anti-Lyt-1.1+C' or anti Lyt-2.1+C'-treated, but not by anti-Thy-1.2+C' anti-Lyt-1.2+C', anti-Lyt-2.2+C'-treated or 2000-rads-irradiated B6-pretreated B6D2F1 spleen cells. Both types of resistance are observed in B6D2F1 hybrids pretreated with more than 2.5 X 10(7) B6 spleen cells.