title: The maintenance of B-cell and T-cell function in frozen and stored human lymphocytes.
abstract: The objective of this study was to identify and test a convenient means for long-term storage of lymphocytes taken from clinically characterized patients without losing B- or T-cell function. Accordingly, peripheral blood lymphocytes were frozen and stored, and portions of each sample were subsequently assayed for T-cell blastogenic response and B-cell Jerne plaquing at various time intervals after freezing. A comparison of the cell counts of fresh and frozen cultures indicated that cell were recovered after freezing. Furthermore, these cells showed no significant differences in (i) cell viability; (ii) blastogenic response to antigens of Actinomyces maeslandii, Bacteroides melaninogenicus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and tetanus toxoid; (iii) blastogenic response to phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen; and (iv) polyclonal B-cell response to pokeweed mitogen as measured by the direct Jerne plaque assay. The retained blastogenic and plaquing responses seen in frozen cultures indicated the maintenance of both T-cell and B-cell function, respectively. This is the first reported demonstration of Jerne plaquing of normal human lymphocytes after freezing. It appears that freezing techniques provide a means for repeating and extending both T- and B-cell assays using frozen stored portions of the same cell samples.
mesh_terms: D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D001793:Blood Preservation; D002470:Cell Survival; D005615:Freezing; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens