title: A comparative study on the humoral immune responses in germ-free and conventional mice.
abstract: The plaque-forming cell (PFC) responses to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) dinitrophenyl-lysine-Ficoll (DNP-lys-Ficoll), and dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin (DNP-BSA) have been studied in both germ-free and conventionally reared ICR mice. In germ-free mice, the IgG response to SRBC and the IgM and IgG responses to DNP-BSA were lower than in conventional mice, but no difference was observed in the IgM response to SRBC or the IgM and IgG responses to DNP-lys-Ficoll. Further, the number of 0-bearing cells in the spleen was smaller, and the mitogenic response of spleen cells to PHA was lower in germ-free mice than in conventional mice. These observations suggest that T cells of germ-free mice remain functionally immature.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D051379:Mice; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell