The abnormal function of T cells in chronically anti‐μ‐treated mice with no mature B lymphocytes

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Abstract
T cells from anti‐μ‐treated mice, normal goat serum (NGS)‐treated mice or untreated control mice were compared with respect to their surface antigenic phenotypes, T cell mitogenic responses, helper function and precursor frequency of helper T cells. Anti‐μ treatment arrested the development of B cells at an immature stage, as determined by flow microfluorometry; it resulted in no serum IgM, but detectable levels of IgG by solid‐phase radioimmunoassay. Proliferative responses to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A were significantly decreased in T cells obtained from μ‐suppressed C57BL/6 mice, but not from control mice. When T cells from anti‐μ‐treated mice were tested in vitro for their helper activity to collaborate with B cells from nu/nu C57BL/6 mice to give plaque‐forming cells to sheep red blood cells, they provided far less help than did T cells from control mice. The frequency of T helper cells, as measured by limiting dilution analysis, was much lower in the anti‐μ‐than in the NGS‐treated mice. Cell mixing experiments provided evidence for active suppression of T helper function among splenocytes taken from μ‐suppressed mice.