Frequencies of mitogen-reactive B cells in the mouse. II. Frequencies of B cells producing antibodies which lyse sheep or horse erythrocytes, and trinitrophenylated or nitroiodophenylated sheep erythrocytes.
The B-cell mitogens LPS and lipoprotein stimulate 20-35 percent of all B cells in the spleen of 6- to 8-wk old C3H/Tif mice, as determined by limiting dilution analysis of precursors. Each reactive cell grows to a clone of IgM-secreting PFC, enumerated in a hemolytic plaque assay detecting all IgM secreting cells, regardless of v-region specificity. We have used these mitogens to reveal the total repertoire of Ig specificities produced by these mitogen-reactive B cells. We have determined in plaque assays with six different target erythrocytes the number of spleen cells limiting to one the number of mitogen-reactive B cells detected as specific IgM-secreting clones in each of these plaque assays. By this method, the absolute frequencies of precursor B cells with defined v-gene specificities could be calculated, for at least, one third of all B cells. The frequencies of specific IgM-plaque-forming B-cell clones within the total pool of mitogen-reactive B cells was 1 in 10 for NIP(12),-SRC, 1 in 50 for TNP(12)- SRC, 1 in 100 for NIP(1)-SRC, 1 in 160 for TNP(3)- SRC, 1 in 500 for HRC, and 1 in 1,000 for SRC. These frequencies were the same in the LPS- and in the lipoprotein-reactive B-cell population for TNP(30)- SRC and SRC.
D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D006736:Horses / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D007462:Iodobenzenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008934:Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D012756:Sheep / Q000276:immunology; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes / Q000494:pharmacology
D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D007462:Iodobenzenes; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008074:Lipoproteins; D008934:Mitogens; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes; D003165:Complement System Proteins