Cell interaction in B/W mice: a reversible defect at the T-cell level.
The anti-SRBC PFC response of old B/W mice can be restored by adding specifically activated T cells or primed spleen cells in vitro as well as by injecting LPS and SRBC in vivo. Since nonresponsive old B/W bone marrow and thymocytes cooperated in a normal manner upon adoptive transfer, this suggested that the lack of response to SRBC in the intact animal was due to a block in T cell activation and not due to intrinsic defects in lymphoid cells necessary to initiate a response. The block in T cell activation might be mediated by a suppressor cell found in old B/W spleens and it was hypothesized that this suppressor might also lead to a loss of self-tolerance.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*