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Stimulation of in Vitro Antibody Responses to Sheep Red Cells by Thymus Cells Activated to Histocompatibility Antigens¹

From the Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

Abstract

Thymus cells from parental strain mice were injected into irradiated F₁ recipients to produce thymus-dependent (T) cells activated to histocompatibility antigens (ATC). In vitro, the responses of normal spleen cells, expressed as plaque-forming cells (PFC) to sheep erythrocytes, were significantly enhanced by addition of appropriate numbers of ATC reactive with the spleen cell histocompatibility antigens. The enhancement was greatest on day 3 of culture. These effects were observed only when T cells were activated to foreign histocompatibility antigens and the responding spleen cells possessed the histocompatibility antigens to which the T cells were activated.

ATC derived from a given strain did not enhance the PFC responses of "bystander" spleen cells which were syngeneic with the ATC unless an appropriate target cell population was added to the culture. Supernatants were prepared which enhanced in vitro PFC responses. The supernatants came from cultures of ATC mixed with target cells.

The source and nature of the factor responsible for the enhancing activity have not yet been determined. The mechanism of the enhancement is not known, but it may be related to the observation that addition of ATC or enhancing supernatants to normal spleen cell cultures apparently stimulated cell division to the extent that the normal decline in cell number in primary cultures was eliminated and in some cases recoverable cell counts significantly increased during the 5-day period.

Footnotes

¹ This work was supported by United States Public Health Service Research Grant AI 10498.