Improved Graft Survival after Treatment with Bordetella and Anti-lymphocyte Serum

Bordetella pertussis increases the number of circulating lymphocytes¹ and alters their migratory behaviour², which suggests that mice treated with B. pertussis may be particularly susceptible to the immunosuppressive effect of anti-lymphocyte serum (ALS). Here we report that combined treatment with B. pertussis and ALS causes skin grafts to survive longer, in spite of a strong histocompatibility barrier, than treatment with either alone.