Ontogeny of the antibody‐forming cell line in mice

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Abstract
A role for antigen in the generation of fully mature splenic type B cells has been shown. In adoptive transfer experiments, cells from bone marrow or fetal liver required a longer period to give an anti‐sheep red blood cell plaque‐forming cell (PFC) response than those from spleen. This delay was not overcome by allowing the cells a 7‐day sojourn in the irradiated host before antigen challenge. A two‐stage protocol was designed in which the in vivo generation of fully mature cells could be measured by their ability to give PFC in lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated cultures in vitro. These experiments showed that a critical factor which influences the final differentiation of bone marrow or fetal liver cells into mature, splenic type B cells is exposure to antigen.