title: Ontogeny of B cells in CBA/N mice. Evidence for a stage of responsiveness to thymus-independent antigens during development.
abstract: This paper deals with the CBA/N mice, a strain bearing a genetic defect in their B-cell compartment. By using a previously described system we have been able to show that the immature cells of CBA/N mice are functionally indistinguishable from normal immature cells, in that both can be triggered to respond to thymus-independent (TI) antigens, provided they are supplied with helper T cells. When the maturation is completed, CBA/N B cells are unable to respond to TI antigens (like lipopolysaccharide and polyvinyl pyrrolidine) irrespective of the presence of helper T cells, whereas normal mature B cells have grown able to respond without any help. These data allow us to reject the hypothesis that CBA/N mice are arrested at an immature stage and clearly support the idea that they have deviated during development so that only thymus-dependent B cells develop.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D008211:Lymphocyte Cooperation; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011205:Povidone / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011205:Povidone