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Cell Surface-Associated Gamma Globulins in Lymphocytes¹

III. Changes of Globulin-Carrying Lymphocytes During Primary Response

From the Departments of Medicine and Immunology and the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Abstract

The reverse immune cytoadherence technique (RICA) which detects surface-associated globulins on lymphocytes was used to study the effect of antigenic stimulation on globulin-carrying lymphocytes. Six hours after administration of antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant there is a marked increase in globulin-carrying cells (by 8 to 10% of the spleen cells or 25% of globulin-carrying cells before immunization). A similar increase was produced in vitro by treating normal spleen cells with serum obtained 6 hr after antigenic stimulation and likely represents the attachment of a cytophilic globulin to cells previously not carrying surface globulin. Adjuvant is important for the induction of this increase by soluble antigens but particulate antigens in saline can induce similar changes. These changes are not related to the distinction of the antigens according to their degree of dependency on the thymus for an immune response. The number of globulin-carrying cells decreased dramatically by 24 hr and reached its lowest point at 15 days when the globulin-carrying cells decreased by 50% of the normal levels of globulin-carrying cells. The decrease of the globulin-carrying cells does not depend on the presence of adjuvant. It is suggested that this phenomenon may represent the loss of surface globulins from lymphocytes after the antigenic encounter. All plasma cells examined in this study by RICA showed no surface globulin.

According to the results presented here it is obvious that antigen affects a very large cell population.

Footnotes

¹ This work was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute of Canada and Grant MA-3418 from the Medical Research Council of Canada.