title: Competence of B cells for T-cell help in pokeweed mitogen-induced immunoglobulin production.
abstract: Pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced polyclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) production of B cells is highly reproducible and the response has been shown to be dependent on T cells. We investigated whether or not human helper T cells are able to collaborate with B cells in PWM-induced polyclonal Ig production across allogeneic barriers, using T and B cells obtained from healthy individuals and a(hypo)-gammaglobulinemia patients. In results, it has become clear that the B-cell competence is required for T-cell help among healthy individuals and between healthy and a(hypo)-gammaglobulinemic individuals. These phenomena were associated with suppressor or killer T cells rather than HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DR antigens. They also imply that in order to investigate the T-cell helper activities of a(hypo)-gammaglobulinemia patients their T cells should be tested in cocultures not only with B cells of the third party individuals but also with B cells of patient family members.
mesh_terms: D000361:Agammaglobulinemia / Q000276:immunology*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens / Q000276:immunology*; D011961:Receptors, Fc / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens; D011961:Receptors, Fc