Skip to main content
The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1967 Oct 1;126(4):655–665. doi: 10.1084/jem.126.4.655

QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON THE MIXED LYMPHOCYTE INTERACTION IN RATS

II. RELATIONSHIP OF THE PROLIFERATIVE RESPONSE TO THE IMMUNOLOGIC STATUS OF THE DONORS

Darcy B Wilson 1, Willys K Silvers 1, Peter C Nowell 1
PMCID: PMC2138390  PMID: 6055760

Abstract

The influence of the immunologic status of the cell donors on the proliferative behavior of rat lymphocytes in the mixed lymphocyte interaction has been studied. Mixed cultures of cells from various parental and F1 combinations having morphologically distinguishable sex chromosomes exhibited unidirectional proliferative reactivity. The mitotic figures were predominately of parental origin. Lymphocytes from donors made tolerant at birth to homologous transplantation isoantigens were specifically unreactive against cells bearing antigens of the tolerance inducing strain, but not to indifferent third party homologous lymphocytes. Cells from animals that had been surgically thymectomized at birth exhibited a markedly and sometimes totally diminished reactivity against homologous lymphocytes. Presensitization of the cell donors resulted in a curtailment of proliferative reactivity in cultures with cells bearing the immunizing antigens. This may reflect the destructive properties that lymphocytes from sensitized animals are known to possess. The results of these experiments show that the proliferative activity of lymphocytes in the mixed lymphocyte interaction accurately reflects the immunologic status of the cell donors, and these findings provide further support for the premise that the mixed lymphocyte interaction represents a primary immunologic response by cells in culture against homologous cells bearing histocompatibility antigens.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (543.1 KB).

Selected References

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

  1. BILLINGHAM R. E., BRENT L., MEDAWAR P. B. Quantitative studies on tissue transplantation immunity. II. The origin, strength and duration of actively and adoptively acquired immunity. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1954 Dec 15;143(910):58–80. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1954.0054. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. HUNGERFORD D. A., NOWELL P. C. SEX CHROMOSOME POLYMORPHISM AND THE NORMAL KARYOTYPE IN THREE STRAINS OF THE LABORATORY RAT. J Morphol. 1963 Sep;113:275–285. doi: 10.1002/jmor.1051130213. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. MOORHEAD P. S., NOWELL P. C., MELLMAN W. J., BATTIPS D. M., HUNGERFORD D. A. Chromosome preparations of leukocytes cultured from human peripheral blood. Exp Cell Res. 1960 Sep;20:613–616. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(60)90138-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. ROSENAU W., MOON H. D. Lysis of homologous cells by sensitized lymphocytes in tissue culture. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1961 Aug;27:471–483. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Rieke W. O. Lymphocytes from thymectomized rats: immunologic, proliferative, and metabolic properties. Science. 1966 Apr 22;152(3721):535–538. doi: 10.1126/science.152.3721.535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Silvers W. K., Wilson D. B., Palm J. Mixed leukocyte reactions and histocompatibility in rats. Science. 1967 Feb 10;155(3763):703–704. doi: 10.1126/science.155.3763.703. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Slonecker C. E., Rieke W. O. Protein and nucleic acid synthesis in lymph node cells of thymectomized rats undergoing a primary immune response. Nature. 1967 Apr 15;214(5085):289–291. doi: 10.1038/214289a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Wilson D. B. QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON THE BEHAVIOR OF SENSITIZED LYMPHOCYTES IN VITRO : I. RELATIONSHIP OF THE DEGREE OF DESTRUCTION OF HOMOLOGOUS TARGET CELLS TO THE NUMBER OF LYMPHOCYTES AND TO THE TIME OF CONTACT IN CULTURE AND CONSIDERATION OF THE EFFECTS OF ISOIMMUNE SERUM. J Exp Med. 1965 Jul 1;122(1):143–166. doi: 10.1084/jem.122.1.143. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Experimental Medicine are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES