FIG. 3.

Proliferative response of CD56⁺ T cells to bacterial superantigens. CD56⁺ T cells (2 × 10⁵ cells/well) were cultured (37°C, 5% CO₂) with various concentrations (0.001 to 1 μM) of superantigens and with or without gamma-irradiated (1,500 rads) autologous PBMC (2 × 10⁵ cells/well). After 60 h of culture, cells were then pulsed with [³H]thymidine (1 μCi/well) for an additional 10 h. Cellular proliferation was assessed by incorporation of radioactivity into DNA. Results are from a representative experiment (total of three experiments).