Premium
Regulatory Mechanism of Delayed‐Type Hypersensitivity in Mice: III. In Vitro Analysis of Memory T Cells Involved in Augmentation of DTH Responses
Author(s) -
Tamura ShinIchi,
Kojima Asato,
Egashira Yasuyuki
Publication year - 1981
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.1348-0421.1981.tb00061.x
Subject(s) - priming (agriculture) , spleen , biology , antigen , immunology , in vitro , ovalbumin , population , microbiology and biotechnology , t cell , delayed hypersensitivity , memory t cell , immune system , medicine , biochemistry , botany , germination , environmental health
The memory of delayed‐type hypersensitivity (DTH), manifested by the augmented responsiveness upon challenge with alum‐absorbed ovalbumin (OA), was induced in mice primed 7 days, 21 days, or 90 days previously with 1 μ g of reduced and alkylated OA. The memory cells involved in the augmentation of DTH responses were analyzed in the in vitro induction system of T cells which mediate DTH against OA. Spleen cells from the primed mice generated DTH‐effector T cells (DTH‐Te) in a significantly accelerated fashion, compared with unprimed spleen cells, when cultured with OA. The accelerated generation of DTH‐Te in vitro was induced antigen specifically and was dependent on a certain T cell population in the primed spleen. The T cell population was found in the spleen of primed mice for at least 3 months after priming, corresponding to the persistence of DTH‐memory in vivo . Moreover, it was fractionated in the high‐density layer by discontinuous bovine serum albumin gradient centrifugation. The high‐density cell population decreased in density with increase in the time of culture and developed into DTH‐Te, which were separated in the low‐density layer on day 4 of culture. These results indicate that the T cells involved in the accelerated generation of DTH‐Te in vitro are long‐lived DTH‐memory T cells, which are probably precursor cells, capable of differentiating into DTH‐Te upon challenge with the antigen.