Requirement of the Chemokine Receptor CXCR3 for Acute Allograft Rejection

Chemokines provide signals for activation and recruitment of effector cells into sites of inflammation, acting via specific G protein–coupled receptors. However, in vitro data demonstrating the presence of multiple ligands for a given chemokine receptor, and often multiple receptors for a given chemokine, have led to concerns of biologic redundancy. Here we show that acute cardiac allograft rejection is accompanied by progressive intragraft production of the chemokines interferon (IFN)-γ–inducible protein of 10 kD (IP-10), monokine induced by IFN-γ (Mig), and IFN-inducible T cell α chemoattractant (I-TAC), and by infiltration of activated T cells bearing the corresponding chemokine receptor, CXCR3. We used three in vivo models to demonstrate a role for CXCR3 in the development of transplant rejection. First, CXCR3-deficient (CXCR3−/−) mice showed profound resistance to development of acute allograft rejection. Second, CXCR3−/− allograft recipients treated with a brief, subtherapeutic course of cyclosporin A maintained their allografts permanently and without evidence of chronic rejection. Third, CXCR+/+ mice treated with an anti-CXCR3 monoclonal antibody showed prolongation of allo