IMMUNE-RESPONSE TO GLUTARALDEHYDE-TREATED CELLS .1. DISSOCIATION OF IMMUNOLOGICAL MEMORY AND ANTIBODY-PRODUCTION

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 36  (4) , 775-780
Abstract
Glutaraldehyde (GA)-treated sheep red blood cells (SRBC) or H-2 allogeneic spleen cells (SC), induced immunological memory with absent or markedly reduced primary antibody production. A normal secondary response was obtained when GA-SRBC or GA-SC were given to mice primed with the corresponding untreated antigens. The secondary response of mice primed and boosted with GA-treated cells was relatively high with GA-SRBC, and negative or very low with GA-SC. Morphological studies of the fate of i.p. injected cells showed that endocytosed GA-SRBC persisted much longer in peritoneal macrophages than untreated SRBC. Simultaneous challenge of mice with untreated and GA-treated SRBC revealed that phagocytosis and digestion of both types of cells in the same macrophage proceeded independently of each other. The primary response of mice receiving SRBC and GA-SRBC was entirely similar to the response when SRBC alone was given.