INDUCTION OF CONTACT SENSITIVITY - SELECTIVE INDUCTION OF DELAYED-HYPERSENSITIVITY BY INJECTION OF CELLS FROM DRAINING LYMPH-NODES INTO FOOTPADS OF NORMAL RECIPIENTS

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 34  (4) , 725-731
Abstract
Cells taken from the draining lymph nodes of mice 1 day after painting with picryl chloride induced contact hypersensitivity when injected into the footpads of normal recipients. This was an immunizing process rather than a transfer of sensitized cells. Footpad injection of 5 .times. 106 1-day draining lymph node cells induced a similar degree of hypersensitivity to the original skin painting with picryl chloride but no antibody, as judged by anti-TNP [trinitrophenol] splenic PFC [plaque forming cells] and serum antibody, in contrast to the moderate antibody response found after skin painting. The apparent inability to induce a response correlated with the finding that the draining lymph nodes of mice painted with picryl chloride had few PFC. Some effect of the cells on antibody was noted in that after mice were challenged on the ear to produce contact sensitivity reactions they produced an antibody response larger than that of mice not injected with cells. This was not a large phenomenon but was unusual because 2.5 .times. 106 cells were more effective than 106 or 5 .times. 106 cells, even though 5 .times. 106 cells produced the largest contact sensitivity reactions. The augmentation was antigen specific and the same dose-response effect could be obtained with irradiated cells (2000 rad). The ability of these cells to induce large contact sensitivity reactions without antibody indicates that they may have an important role in the immunogenicity of contact sensitizing agents, which can induce large delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions accompanied only by moderate antibody responses.