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Regulation of the Antibody Response to Type III Pneumococcal Polysaccharide

V. Ontogeny of Factors Influencing the Magnitude of the Plaque-Forming Cell Response

From the Laboratory of Microbial Immunity, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014 and Microbiological Associates, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland 20034

Abstract

Mice of different ages were evaluated with respect to their ability to give a plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to Type III pneumococcal polysaccharide (SSS-III), as well as the degree of amplifier and suppressor thymus-derived (T) cell activity present. Although the magnitude of the PFC response to an optimally immunogenic dose of SSS-III for 2- and 3-week old mice was only 7% and 14%, respectively, of that produced by adult (8-week old) mice, values comparable to those of adult animals were attained by 4 weeks of age; no significant changes in the ability to respond to SSS-III occurred thereafter. Amplifier T cell activity, which was minimal at 2 to 4 weeks of age, matured slowly and did not reach a maximum until 8 to 10 weeks of age. By contrast, suppressor T cell activity appeared to be fully developed at least as early as 2 weeks of age; here, the inhibitory effects produced could be abrogated by depletion of T cells, indicating that the unresponsiveness induced by such cells does not result in the depletion or irreversible inactivation of B cells capable of responding to SSS-III. These findings suggest that the inhibitory effects of suppressor T cells are predominant in young mice and that such cells may play an important role in determining the ease with which unresponsiveness is induced in neonates, and in the prevention of autoimmune disease. Also, studies conducted with adult-thymectomized mice showed that both amplifier and suppressor T cells, once seeded to the periphery, are stable and do not depend upon the presence of intact thymus for the expression or renewal of their activity.

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