title: Ontogeny of cell-mediated immunity. I. Early development of alloantigen-specific cytotoxic T-cell precursors in postnatal mice.
abstract: Cytotoxic T-cell precursors have been shown to occur in spleens of 2-3-day-old mice. By 12 days after birth, the cytotoxic T-cell response of spleen cells to alloantigens has reached 23-32% of adult levels. Addition of extra T-helper cells did not permit cytotoxic T-cell development in spleen cells from newborn to 2-day-old mice suggesting either a lack of precursors or suppression of precursors. The ontogeny of cell-mediated immune functions has thus been shown to correlate well with other work on the development of humoral immunity, accessory cells, and graft versus host reactivity.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000276:immunology*; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007519:Isoantigens; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007519:Isoantigens