The Significance of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Levels for Rejection of Joint Allograft

ABSTRACT This paper describes the efficacy of utilizing Tumor Necrosis Factor -α (TNF) as a detectable parameter of acute rejection after bone allografts. The authors used a bone-joint allograft model, transferring vas-cularized allograft knee joints across a major histocompatibility barrier, using three groups of rats divided into controls, non-immunosuppressed, and immunosuppressed with cyclosporine. The paper supplies preliminary information suggesting that TNF may be a marker for early bone-joint allograft rejection.