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Studies on Delayed Hypersensitivity to Protein Antigen: Antigen‐specific Suppression of Delayed Hypersensitivity by Chemically Modified Antigen
Author(s) -
Nakashima Shoichi,
Sakai Yasuo,
Umeda Yukio,
Takatsu Kiyoshi
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1979.tb00446.x
Subject(s) - antigen , spleen , adjuvant , b cell , delayed hypersensitivity , adoptive cell transfer , antiserum , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , biology , freund's adjuvant , antibody , t cell , immune system
An extensively modified protein antigen (methylated bacterial α‐amylase, M‐BαA) which was neither reactive with anti‐BαA antibody nor able to induce a humoral anti‐BαA response, retained the ability to prime native BαA‐specific T cells which were responsible for the enhanced anti‐BαA response to subsequent immunization with BαA and delayed hypersensitivity (DH). The splenic T cell‐rich fraction from mice primed with M‐BαA collaborated with a native BαA‐primed B cell‐rich fraction to give a good adoptive IgG anti‐BαA response in syngeneic irradiated mice, whereas M‐BαA‐primed B cell fractions failed to cooperate with native BαA‐primed T cell fractions. Splenic T cells from mice given a subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of M‐BαA in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) exhibited DH in syngeneic cyclophosphamide‐treated mice. In the present study, native and methylated BαA were tested for their ability to generate suppressor T cells capable of inhibiting the development of DH. An intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of either native or methylated BαA in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) interferred with the development of DH to M‐BαA by an s.c. injection of the same antigen in CFA. Transfer of spleen cells from mice given an i.p. injection of either of these antigens 5 days previously, suppressed antigen‐specifically induction and expression of DH in the syngeneic recipient mice. The suppressive activity was sensitive to treatment with anti‐θ antiserum plus complement. These results indicate that the early phase of inhibition of DH after an i.p. injection is in part mediated by suppressor T cells and that M‐BαA cross‐reacts with native BαA at the suppressor T cell level as well as the level of effector T cells in DH.