01 Feb 2021
Setting it Straight: In the node - Part 2
Continuing from last week, Jim Gowans went on to establish that his rat thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDLs) were indeed immune cells by showing that they caused graft-versus-host (GVH) disease – the donor T cells react against the foreign transplant antigens of the recipient – when transferred into mice, or into an MHC-different rat strain. After Jim moved on to become secretary of the UK Medical Research Council, the Oxford lymphology tradition was continued by his trainees, particularly Bill Ford who was, sadly, killed in a car crash when spending time as a visiting fellow in the ANU, John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) group led by Oxford trained lymphologist, Bede Morris. Tragically, the flamboyant and unforgettable Bede also died (1988) in the same way, in France.