This study was aimed to investigate the migration and distribution processes of allogeneic donor T lymphocytes in the organs of recipient mice. GVHD model was established by transfusion of the splenocytes of eGFP transgeneic C57BL/6 mice together with born marrow cells harvested from C57BL/6 mice into BALB/c mice underwent 8.0 Gy total body irradiation. The migration and homing of eGFP(+) cells were tracked by stereo-fluorescent microscopy or inverted fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry. The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed on supernatants from the tissue homogenates to detect the amount of MIP-1alpha. The results indicated that GVHD clinical manifestation and pathological changes of organs appeared on day 8 post transplantation. eGFP-positive donor T cells in recipient organs were observed by inverted fluorescence microscope in frozen section, or by stereo-fluorescence microscopy in living organs, such as liver, spleen, skin, lungs, bowels, and tongue. The highest expression of MIP-1alpha was on day 7 post transplantation in the liver (491.3 +/- 32.1 pg/ml), and day 3 post transplantation in the spleen (881.5 +/- 45.2 pg/ml), respectively (P0.05). It is concluded that GVHD was induced by splenocytes of eGFP transgeneic C57BL/6 mice. eGFP(+) cells in the organs can be observed by fluorescent microscopy. In this GVHD model, donor T cells proliferate and infiltrate in liver, skin, bowels, as well as lungs and tongue. MIP-1alpha may be in relation with the infiltration of T lymphocytes in liver and spleen.
