Skip to main content
PMC home page
Immunology logoLink to Immunology
. 1977 Jan;32(1):43–48.

A comparative study on the humoral immune responses in germ-free and conventional mice.

M Ohwaki, N Yasutake, H Yasui, R Ogura
PMCID: PMC1445201  PMID: 321340

Abstract

The plaque-forming cell (PFC) responses to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) dinitrophenyl-lysine-Ficoll (DNP-lys-Ficoll), and dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin (DNP-BSA) have been studied in both germ-free and conventionally reared ICR mice. In germ-free mice, the IgG response to SRBC and the IgM and IgG responses to DNP-BSA were lower than in conventional mice, but no difference was observed in the IgM response to SRBC or the IgM and IgG responses to DNP-lys-Ficoll. Further, the number of 0-bearing cells in the spleen was smaller, and the mitogenic response of spleen cells to PHA was lower in germ-free mice than in conventional mice. These observations suggest that T cells of germ-free mice remain functionally immature.

Full text

PDF
44

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bosma M. J., Makinodan T., Walburg H. E., Jr Development of immunologic competence in germfree and conventional mice. J Immunol. 1967 Aug;99(2):420–430. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cunningham A. J., Szenberg A. Further improvements in the plaque technique for detecting single antibody-forming cells. Immunology. 1968 Apr;14(4):599–600. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Harris G., Pelc S. R., Blackmore D. K. Synthesis of DNA by the spleens of germ-free mice during the primary response to sheep red cells. Eur J Immunol. 1973 Feb;3(2):103–108. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830030210. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hirst J. A., Beverley P. C., Kisielow P., Hoffmann M. K., Oettgen H. F. Ly antigens: markers of T cell function on mouse spleen cells. J Immunol. 1975 Dec;115(6):1555–1557. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Scheid M. P., Hoffmann M. K., Komuro K., Hämmerling U., Abbott J., Boyse E. A., Cohen G. H., Hooper J. A., Schulof R. S., Goldstein A. L. Differentiation of T cells induced by preparations from thymus and by nonthymic agents. J Exp Med. 1973 Oct 1;138(4):1027–1032. doi: 10.1084/jem.138.4.1027. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Seibert K., Pollard M., Nordin A. Some aspects of humoral immunity in germ-free and conventional SJL-J mice in relation to age and pathology. Cancer Res. 1974 Jul;34(7):1707–1719. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Sharon R., McMaster P. R., Kask A. M., Owens J. D., Paul W. E. DNP-Lys-ficoll: a T-independent antigen which elicits both IgM and IgG anti-DNP antibody-secreting cells. J Immunol. 1975 May;114(5):1585–1589. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Spear P. G., Edelman G. M. Maturation of the humoral immune response in mice. J Exp Med. 1974 Feb 1;139(2):249–263. doi: 10.1084/jem.139.2.249. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Taylor R. B., Wortis H. H. Thymus dependence of antibody response: variation with dose of antigen and class of antibody. Nature. 1968 Nov 30;220(5170):927–928. doi: 10.1038/220927a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Vitetta E. S., Grundke-Iqbal I., Holmes K. V., Uhr J. W. Cell surface immunoglobulin. VII. Synthesis, shedding, and secretion of immunoglobulin by lymphoid cells of germ-free mice. J Exp Med. 1974 Apr 1;139(4):862–876. doi: 10.1084/jem.139.4.862. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Wostmann B. S., Pleasants J. R., Bealmear P., Kincade P. W. Serum proteins and lymphoid tissues in germ-free mice fed a chemically defined, water soluble, low molecular weight diet. Immunology. 1970 Sep;19(3):443–448. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES