The development of graft-host tolerance after allogeneic bone marrow (BM) transplantation is more demanding than the acquisition of self-tolerance because both donor-derived mature T cells and immature thymocytes encounter host Ag. The mechanism involved in tolerization of mature T cells, contained in unmanipulated BM, remains undefined. In previous experiments, we showed in vivo unresponsiveness to host minor histocompatibility Ag (MiHA) in immunocompetent chimeras obtained after MiHA-incompatible BM transplantation. In this study, we wanted to determine: first, what was the specificity of this graft-host unresponsiveness, and second, whether peripheral cells were involved in tolerization? LP recipients were irradiated (9, 5 Gy), injected with 10(7) undepleted BM cells from B10 donors and studied 100 to 150 days later. (B10-->LP) chimeras were immunized in vivo and restimulated in vitro with cells displaying one or multiple incompatible MiHA. In bulk culture experiments, chimeras demonstrated specific CTL unresponsiveness to host MiHA but responded normally to third party MiHA. In limiting dilution analysis conditions, chimeras showed a profound deficit, but not a complete absence of anti-host CTL precursor. Studies with congenic stimulators/targets showed that graft-host tolerance was induced against both immunodominant (e.g., H-3.2) and nonimmunodominant (e.g., H-8.2) MiHA although at the CTL precursor level, it was more complete against the former. Furthermore, chimera spleen cells inhibited the generation of CTL activity against host- and donor-type MiHA but not against third party Ag. This specific suppressor activity was not T cell dependent, and was mediated by radiosensitive cells that are not found in freshly explanted organs from normal mice. Taken together, our results suggest that peripheral tolerization can be a remarkably efficient process to maintain tolerance to MiHA after BM transplantation. Thus, peripheral tolerizing mechanisms may contribute not only to the induction of tolerance to Mls superantigens or to the product of transgenes (if expressed at high levels) but also to a wide array of MiHA.