Potentiation of antibody responsiveness after the transplantation of a syngeneic pituitary gland.
Transplantation of a pituitary graft under the kidney capsule and the resulting elevation of serum prolactin enhances the primary humoral antibody response to sheep red blood cells. Enhancement of the response is not due to marked changes in the percentage of T-cells and their subsets, B-cells, or the number of nucleated spleen cells. Quantitation of serum prolactin levels correlates well with the proportion of enhancement as mice with two grafts and higher levels of prolactin have increased responsiveness compared to mice with one graft. Systemic administration of mouse prolactin at the time of immunization also enhances the humoral immune response; however, if prolactin treatment is delayed and given 24 h after immunization, no potentiation of the response occurs. Thus, prolactin is enhancing the immune response by affecting an early afferent event in the induction of the immune response.
Cross
R J
RJ
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington 40536-0084.
Campbell
J L
JL
Roszman
T L
TL
D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000276:immunology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007668:Kidney; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000637:transplantation*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood; D012756:Sheep / Q000097:blood; D014185:Transplantation, Isogeneic
D000906:Antibodies; D004731:Endotoxins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C048761:trinitrophenyl-lipopolysaccharide; D011388:Prolactin