Open AccessIn vitro stimulation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes by Neisseria meningitidis
Author(s) -
Mélançon Johanne,
Murgita Robert A.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1985.tb00978.x
Subject(s) - neisseria meningitidis , stimulation , incubation , peripheral blood , in vitro , microbiology and biotechnology , rosette (schizont appearance) , incubation period , biology , neisseriaceae , immunology , bacteria , endocrinology , antibiotics , biochemistry , genetics
Heat‐killed Neisseria meningitidis was found to be mitogenic for human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Separation of lymphocytes by rosetting with sheep erythrocytes indicated that both rosette‐forming cells (E + , T‐enriched) and nonrosetting cells (E − , B‐enriched) were induced to proliferate by the bacteria. Following meningococcal stimulation, E − cells and PBL displayed proliferative responses of similar magnitude and followed essentially the same kinetics with peak responses occurring after 3–4 days of culture. By comparison, E + lymphocytes gave significantly higher responses and required a longer incubation period (5–7 days) to reach maximum levels of proliferative activity.