DELAYED ANTIBODY SYNTHESIS IN MICE AFTER TRANSFER OF IMMUNE PERITONEAL FLUID CELLS

  • 1 January 1964
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 7  (3) , 197-+
Abstract
Ascites fluid, rich in bacteriophage-neutralizing antibody, was produced when mice were treated first, with lethal or near-lethal whole body X-radiation; secondly, intravenous injection of spleen cells from donor mice immunized against bacteriophage; and thirdly, with an intraperitoneal injection of bacteriophage in Freund''s adjuvant. The "immune ascites cells" were washed and transferred to other mice without further addition of antigen. The production of phage-neutralizing antibody in recipient mice showed the following properties. (1) The highest rate of antibody synthesis occurred between the 5th and the 11th day after cell transfer. In contrast, spleen cells similarly transferred gave rise to antibody formation with the maximum rate of synthesis immediately after transfer. (2) The antibody formation occurred essentially only in isologous recipients, not in homologous ones, whether the latter were pre-immunized against cells of the donor strain or not. With spleen cells, antibody synthesis was not impaired in homologous hosts for about 4 days after transfer, if the hosts were not pre-immunized against the donor strain. (3) Freezing and thawing of the donor cells prior to injection into the hosts abolished subsequent antibody synthesis. (4) Irradiation of the cells with 650 R. abolished antibody formation after transfer. (5) Whole-body irradiation of the recipient mice resulted in increased antibody formation. (6) When immune ascites cells were injected into newborn mice, high levels of antibody were found 13 days afterwards. It is concluded (a) that the population of immune ascites cells carries both the specific information and the stimulus for antibody synthesis, and (b) that the antibody-forming apparatus is not yet present in a functional state at the time of transfer, but develops several days afterwards in the host mice.