Pneumococcal cell wall phosphorylcholine elicits polyclonal antibody secretion in mice.
Immunization of mice with phosphorylcholine (PC)-bearing Staphylococcus pneumoniae Type 2, strain 36a (R36a) results in both a PC-specific and a polyclonal increase in splenic plaque-forming cells. The polyclonal increase was observed in all strains tested, including those bearing an X-linked immune defect resulting in an undetectable anti-PC immune response. The magnitude of the polyclonal response is directly related to the amount of bacterial surface PC as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Congenitally athymic (nude) mice mount an anti-PC plaque-forming cell response after R36a immunization but fail to produce a significant polyclonal response. From our results it appears that PC on the cell wall of a bacterium acts both as a polyclonal activator and a specific antigen, stimulating each by different mechanisms.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000906:Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002794:Choline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005260:Female; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008819:Mice, Nude; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000276:immunology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000276:immunology*
D000906:Antibodies; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; D002794:Choline