Human interleukin 2 can promote the growth and differentiation of single hapten-specific B cells in the presence of specific antigen.

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Abstract
B lymphocytes specifically reactive to the hapten fluorescein (FLU) were prepared from normal adult murine spleen by the hapten-gelatin affinity procedure. They were placed in 10 .mu.l of microcultures singly or in small numbers in the absence of any feeder, filler or accessory cell. The T cell-independent antigen FLU-conjugated polymerized flagellin (FLU-POL) or a selected batch of FLU-conjugated Ficoll were used, and these stimulated division and differentiation only in the concomitant presence of lymphokines acting as B-cell growth and differentiation factors (BGDF). It was found that human interleukin 2 (IL-2), prepared by recombinant DNA technology (r-IL-2), was an effective, albeit rather weak, BGDF in this system. When an IL-2-free source of BGDF was used with the antigenic stimulus, addition of r-IL-2 did not augment the response, nor did removal of IL-2 from the crude lymphokine mixture diminish the BGDF activity.