PLASMA CELL PROLIFERATION FOLLOWING WHOLE BODY IRRADIATION

SUMMARY The effects of large doses of whole body irradiation on lymphoid tissues have been studied, with special reference to the normal plasma fell populations of the tissues. Plasma cells were found to be more radioresistant than lymphocytes. After a sublethal dose of 500 r of whole body X‐rays, considerable plasma cell proliferation followed. This plasma cell proliferation occurred earlier and was relatively more extensive than lymphocyte regeneration. The view is put forward that the plasma cell proliferation might represent an antibody response to invading micro‐organisms entering the irradiated animal via the damaged gastrointestinal tract.