Role of B lymphocytes in cell-mediated immunity. I. Requirement for T cells or T-cell products for antigen-induced B-cell activation.
Although B lymphocytes can be triggered by B-cell mitogens and by certain other molecules to produce lymphokines, they do not produce lymphokines when stimulated with specific soluble protein antigens. We have investigated whether T-cell help would enable B cells to produce lymphokines when activated by antigens. Addition of small numbers of T cells to B-cell cultures resulted in significant production of a monocyte chemotactic factor. T cells could be replaced by supernates of antigen-stimulated T cells, demonstrating both that the chemotactic factor was B-cell-dervied and that T-cell help was mediated by a soluble factor. Although the T-cell factor was nonantigen specific, B-cell activation required the presence of both antigen and T-cell factor. Thus, it appears that although dependent upon T cells, B lymphocytes may play an important role in amplification of cell-mediated immune responses.
D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007700:Kinetics; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008297:Male; D008934:Mitogens; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D000941:Antigens; D008222:Lymphokines; D008934:Mitogens