Abstract
When thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) from mice given sheep erythrocytes (SRC) 1 day previously (1-day-primed TDL) were placed in microcultures with antigen for 5-6 days, the cells failed to produce antibody to SRC, but responded well to horse erythrocytes (HRC); reciprocal results were obtained with TDL from HRC-injected mice. The specific unresponsiveness of the TDL was observed despite the presence of an allogeneic factor in the cultures; this factor exerted not only a macrophage-like effect (TDL from normal mice failed to respond in the absence of this factor) but also a T-cell-replacing function. It was concluded therefore that the unresponsiveness of the TDL was the result of selective recruitment of specific B lymphocyte precursors from the recirculating lymphocyte pool to the lymphoid tissues; whether there was also recruitment of specific T lymphocytes was not investigated. Since addition of 1-day- primed TDL to cultures of normal TDL did not inhibit the response of the latter, there was no evidence that active suppression accounted for the unresponsiveness. The spleen appeared to be the main site for recruitment since 1-day-primed spleen cells placed in microcultures contained above normal numbers of specifically-reactive precursors. This was in striking contrast to the effect of transferring 1-day- primed spleen cells in vivo where, as previously reported, the cells fail to respond to the injected antigen within 1 wk of transfer. An explanation for this paradox is discussed.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (721.9 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Ford W. L., Simmonds S. J., Atkins R. C. Early cellular events in a systemic graft-vs.-host reaction. II. Autoradiographic estimates of the frequency of donor lymphocytes which respond to each Ag-B-determined antigenic complex. J Exp Med. 1975 Mar 1;141(3):681–696. doi: 10.1084/jem.141.3.681. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Heber-Katz E., Wilson D. B. Collaboration of allogeneic T and B lymphocytes in the primary antibody response to sheep erythrocytes in vitro. J Exp Med. 1975 Oct 1;142(4):928–935. doi: 10.1084/jem.142.4.928. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lefkovits I. Induction of antibody-forming cell clones in microcultures. Eur J Immunol. 1972 Aug;2(4):360–366. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830020412. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McCullagh P. The mechanism of unresponsiveness in lymphocytes specifically selected by antigen in normal rats. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1975 Jun;53(3):175–185. doi: 10.1038/icb.1975.18. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Quintáns J., Lefkovits I. Clones of antibody-forming cells in pokeweed mitogen-stimulated microcultures. I. Requirements for the induction of the antibody response of nude spleen cells. Eur J Immunol. 1974 Sep;4(9):613–617. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830040907. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Quintáns J., Lefkovits I. Precursor cells specific to sheep red cells in nude mice. Estimation of frequency in the microculture system. Eur J Immunol. 1973 Jul;3(7):392–397. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830030704. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rowley D. A., Gowans J. L., Atkins R. C., Ford W. L., Smith M. E. The specific selection of recirculating lymphocytes by antigen in normal and preimmunized rats. J Exp Med. 1972 Sep 1;136(3):499–513. doi: 10.1084/jem.136.3.499. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sprent J. Circulating T and B lymphocytes of the mouse. I. Migratory properties. Cell Immunol. 1973 Apr;7(1):10–39. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(73)90180-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sprent J., Miller J. F. Effect of recent antigen priming on adoptive immune responses. I. Specific unresponsiveness of cells from lymphoid organs of mice primed with heterologous erythrocytes. J Exp Med. 1973 Jul 1;138(1):143–162. doi: 10.1084/jem.138.1.143. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sprent J., Miller J. F. Effect of recent antigen priming on adoptive immune responses. II. Specific unresponsiveness of circulating lymphocytes from mice primed with heterologous erythrocytes. J Exp Med. 1974 Jan 1;139(1):1–12. doi: 10.1084/jem.139.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sprent J., Miller J. F., Mitchell G. F. Antigen-induced selective recruitment of circulating lymphocytes. Cell Immunol. 1971 Apr;2(2):171–181. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(71)90036-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]