title: Mechanisms of altered in vitro antibody response in the rat by a small synthetic polymer.
abstract: NED 137, a low molecular weight synthetic polymer, enhances the rat humoral immune response to cellular antigens in vivo. The effect of NED 137 on the in vitro antibody response to sheep erythrocytes was studied in normal and macrophage-depleted rat spleen cultures. The polymer stimulated the IgM antibody response of normal splenocytes, and its immunopotentiating activity was increased in macrophage-depleted spleen cell preparations. NED 137 enhanced both the primary and the secondary plaque-forming cell (PFC) response of rat splenocytes in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This stimulatory effect of the polymer was dependent on the presence of antigen and demonstrated antigen specificity. The PFC and mitogenic responses of both normal and macrophage-depleted rat splenocytes were dramatically inhibited in cultures prepared from animals pretreated with NED 137 before culture initiation. The antigen dependency, specificity and potentiation of a secondary response suggest that NED 137 acts through the triggering of the lymphoid system but not as a "conventional" B-cell polyclonal activator.
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D000941:Antigens / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D011108:Polymers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000941:Antigens; D011108:Polymers; C022084:carboxyimamidate