Local adoptive transfer of skin delayed-type hypersensitivity initiated by a single T lymphocyte.
In vivo primed T cells injected in the footpad of naive recipients elicit a typical delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction in the presence of their specific antigen. The values of the footpad swelling obtained after these transfers show a clear distinction between negative and positive responses. Serial dilutions of primed T cell populations allow the establishment of titration curves by limiting dilution analysis according to Poisson distribution. The single hit titration curve indicates that a unique cell type underlies the DTH reaction. Furthermore, by using cloned T cells it can be demonstrated that the transfer of a single cell is able to initiate a DTH reaction. The revelation of T cell activity at unit level needs an optimal dose of antigen mixed with the sampled cells.
D000818:Animals; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*