title: Influence of carrier-specific, thymus-derived cells on the immunologlobulin M antibody response to staphylococcal lipoteichoic acid.
abstract: The immunoglobulin M antibody response to the lipoteichoic acid (LTA) of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P was examined by a procedure in which erythrocytes sensitized with periodate-activated LTA were used for the detection of immunoglobulin M-producing plaque-forming cells LTA-specific plaque-forming cells were first detected 2 days after immunization with heat-killed bacterial cells, and maximal numbers of plaque-forming cells, mostly of the immunoglobulin M class rather than the immunoblogulin G or immunoglobulin A class, were attained by day 4; specificity for LTA was affirmed by plaque inhibition tests. No plaque-forming cells were found in mice given isolated LTA over a 10,000-fold range of immunizing doses. Mice pretreated with a carrier known to activate thymus-derived helper lymphocytes produced a plaque-forming cell response to LTA only when immunized with LTA bound to the same carrier. This suggests that carrier-specific thymus-derived cells are needed to initiate an antibody response to poorly immunogenic LTA. Since an antibody response can be elicited in mice given heat-killed cells, other cell wall and/or cell membrane constituents may play an important role as immunologically active carriers for this antigen.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007114:Immunization; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010712:Phosphatidic Acids / Q000276:immunology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010712:Phosphatidic Acids; D013682:Teichoic Acids; C009900:lipoteichoic acid