title: Characterization of mouse thoracic duct B lymphocytes. I. Evidence of functional heterogeneity.
abstract: Thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) from C3H/Tif and BALB/c mice were studied for their in vitro reactivity to the B cell mitogens lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoprotein (LP). Roughly 4% and 10% of the surface immunoglobulin (Ig)-positive cells in these populations could be stimulated by LPS and LP, respectively, to generate clones of IgM-secreting cells. Among LPS-reactive B cells, roughly 30% developed into clones which also produced IgG3 or IgG2, while only a very small fraction (1-2%) of all precursors could give rise to clones secreting IgG1 and IgA. Freshly collected TDL from some batches of C3H/HeJ mice displayed a high proportion of Ig-containing B cell blasts (5-10%), which did not secrete enough Ig to be detected as plaque-forming cells (PFC). These cells, however, under appropriate culture conditions and stimulated by LP (but not by Nocardia mitogen), differentiated to PFC of the various Ig classes without dividing.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000276:immunology; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011817:Rabbits; D013897:Thoracic Duct / Q000166:cytology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008074:Lipoproteins