209. Acute Lung Allograft Rejection is Independent of CD8+ T Cells

Lung allografts are more immunogenic than other solid organ grafts contributing to comparatively worse outcomes after lung transplantation. Cellular requirements for graft rejection differ between various organs and we have recently shown that unlike the case for other organs CD4+ T lymphocytes are not necessary for the acute rejection of mouse lung allografts. Although lung graft-infiltrating CD8+ T lymphocytes produce high levels of IFN-γ, the contribution of this T lymphocyte subset to lung rejection is unknown. In this study, we used a novel model of orthotopic vascularized mouse lung transplantation to examine whether CD8 T cells are necessary for the acute rejection of pulmonary grafts.