Prevention of Immunologic Unresponsiveness to Shigella Antigens in Neonatal Mice by Homologous Spleen Cell Transplants

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Abstract
Summary: Spleen cell suspensions were prepared from newborn, normal adult and Shigella immune adult NIH mice and transferred to recipient newborn NIH mice receiving a single inoculum of Shigella soluble antigen (SSA) derived from alcohol killed Shigella paradysenteriae. Whereas injection of SSA into untreated newborn mice results in specific immunologic unresponsiveness to Shigella with a duration of approximately 8 weeks, transfer of the spleen cell suspensions prevented establishment of unresponsiveness. Viable spleen cells from newborn, normal or Shigella immunized adult donor mice were capable of preventing establishment of unresponsiveness. Heated spleen cell suspensions, spleen cell extracts and suspensions of mouse lung, liver and kidney cells were not effective. These observations suggested that transfer of homologous donor spleen cells to SSA injected newborn mice may increase the ratio of available lymphoid cells to antigen and, in effect, may decrease the concentration of antigen below a postulated critical threshold level necessary for establishment and maintenance of unresponsiveness.