EFFECT OF CONCANAVALIN-A ON LYMPHOCYTE INTERACTIONS INVOLVED IN ANTIBODY-RESPONSE TO TYPE-3 PNEUMOCOCCAL POLYSACCHARIDE .2. ABILITY SUPPRESSOR T-CELLS TO ACT ON BOTH B-CELLS AND AMPLIFIER T-CELLS TO LIMIT MAGNITUDE OF ANTIBODY-RESPONSE

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  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 119  (3) , 1163-1168
Abstract
When administered 2 days after immunization with 0.5 .mu.g TypeIII pneumococcal polysaccharide (SSS-III), the T [thymus derived] lymphocyte mitogen concanavalin A (Con A) stimulates a 2.6- to 7-fold enhancement of the [mouse] plaque-forming cells (PFC) response to SSS-III in vivo. This enhancement requires the presence of amplifier T cells, which act by driving PFC or their precursors to extra rounds of proliferation. The extra proliferation that can be stimulated by Con A is not seen in the normal primary response to SSS-III; but treatment with anti-lymphocyte serum (ALS) to remove suppressor T cells will permit the additional proliferation to occur. In the primary response to SSS-III, suppressor T cells act on amplifier T cells to limit the magnitude of the antibody response. Only suppression of B [bone marrow derived] cells can account for the further suppression induced by Con A given at the time of immunization or by low-dose paralysis of the SSS-III response. The relatively late development of amplifier activity compared to suppressor activity appears to account for the absence of amplifier activity after primary immunizattion with SSS-III. It is apparent that one can explain the regulatory effects observed during the development of an immune response to SSS-III only by considering both T cell-B cell and T cell- T cell interactions, together with the temporal relationships involved in those interactions.