The newly developed "underwater" technique is superior to the conventional technique, since floating of the very thin donor cornea during the separation procedure prevents endothelial defects by guarding against folds. By enabling reliable keratoplasty in the mouse, this technique facilitates studies on the experimental allograft reaction.

Our data confirm the existence of functional lymphatic drainage via the uveoscleral pathway and conjunctiva in the mouse. Cells within the ipsilateral submandibular lymph node respond to stimuli upstream. This reaction could potentially be manipulated to improve graft survival.

CTLA4-Ig prolonged significantly the survival of corneal allografts in a fully MHC-mismatched mouse keratoplasty model, but the small antigen load of the corneal transplant and the anterior chamber-associated immune deviation (ACAID) may have a disadvantage to induce tolerance in this model of CTLA4-Ig therapy.

The detection of Th1 cytokines in the cornea but not the serum of mice at the time of allograft rejection is in accordance with the finding of long-lasting dose-dependent immunosuppression of topical steroids and the inefficacy of short-term systemic CsA and corticosteroids.