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Cell Surface-Associated Gamma Globulins in Lymphocytes¹

IV. Lack of Detection of Surface Globulin on B-Cells and Acquisition of Surface _G Globulin by T-Cells During Primary Response

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

Abstract

Antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant injected intraperitoneally in mice induces large-scale changes of thymus-derived (T)-and bone marrow-derived (B)-cells in terms of surface-associated globulins as shown by reverse immune cytoadherence (RICA) and cytotoxicity. Six hours after antigenic stimulation there is an over-all increase of globulin-carrying cells. Exposure in vitro of normal spleen cells to serum collected 6 hr after antigenic stimulation reproduces the increase of the globulin-carrying cells observed in vivo. The increase is due to the acquisition of a cytophilic _G globulin by a T-cell. Such evidence is derived from the fact that concomitant to the 6-hr increase of globulin cells the number of T-cells detectable in the spleen by anti- serum decreases approximately by the same number. Furthermore anti- serum-treated normal spleen cells exposed to 6-hr serum do not show the increase and spleen cells from irradiated mice reconstituted with thymus cells show a similar to normal increase after challenge with antigen. In addition to these changes, in a significant number of the cells which carry globulin before immunization (B-cells), surface globulin is not detectable. Since the number of T-cells which take up globulin is larger than the number by which the B-cells decrease, the net result is an over-all increase of globulin-carrying cells at 6 hr.

After this time interval the T-cells return to normal levels within the 1st week, while the B-cells progressively decrease and reach the lowest point of 45% of the pre-immunization level 2 weeks after antigenic stimulation. Although the relationship of the phenomena described to other known phenomena of the immune response is at present obscure they nevertheless indicate that antigen affects a population of cells much larger than the antigen sensitive cells.

Footnotes

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

² In partial fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba.