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Characterization of Background Anti‐Trinitrophenyl Plaque‐Forming Cells Observed in Several Strains of Mice
Author(s) -
Uchiyama Takehiko,
Yamaura Noboru,
Maeda Ryozo
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
japanese journal of microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0021-5139
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1976.tb00906.x
Subject(s) - immune system , spleen , immunization , antigen , stimulation , antibody , thymectomy , avidity , biology , immunology , horse , microbiology and biotechnology , andrology , chemistry , endocrinology , medicine , myasthenia gravis , paleontology
Normal mice have a large number of background anti‐trinitrophenyl (TNP) antibody‐forming cells (AFC) in their spleens (about 40–50 anti‐TNP PFC/10 6 cells). We investigated this among several mouse strains, i.e., C57BL/6, C3H/He, Balb/c, ddd, and ICR mice, and found that all strains had a similar number of anti‐TNP PFC (plaque‐forming cells). Developmental aspects of background anti‐TNP PFC in the ontogenic process were also investigated. The number of anti‐TNP PFC increased logari thmically during the first few days of age, reached a peak on the 13th day and attained a constant value within 30 days. Neonatal thymectomy did not decrease the number of background anti‐TNP PFC but such treatment decreased the anti‐TNP PFC response to TNP‐HRBC (horse red blood cells) immunization. Germ‐free ICR mice had a number of background anti‐TNP PFC similar to that of conventional ICR mice. Avidity of background anti‐TNP PFC was compared among mice of several ages and it was shown that there were no differences among them. These results suggest that the occurrence of these background anti‐TNP PFC is not elicited by the immune response but by the natural maturation of precursors of AFC without antigenic stimulation.