Enzymatic Modification of Lymphocyte Receptors for Antigen

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Abstract
Spleen cells from bovine serum albumin (USA)‐primed CBA mice were exposed in proteolysis by papain and pronase under conditions where cell recovery jml viability were not impaired but surface Ig and antigen‐binding wore greatly reduced. The ability of the cells to respond to BSA was tested by a modified Farr assay of serum taken 10 days after adoptive transfer of cells to lethally irradiated syngeneic recipients. Cells not exposed to enzymes were able to respond to BSA either in vitro before adoptive transfer or in vivo after transfer. Cells exposed to papain and pronase were unable to respond in vitro, but normal antibody production was approached when the cells were exposed to antigen in vivo. Thus, after removal of much surface Ig; the cells were temporarily unresponsive to antigen but were still functional, as demonstrated by their ability to recover responsiveness in vivo.