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Evidence for Generation of Suppressor T Cells in Mycobacterium lepraemurium ‐Infected CBA/J Mice, a Mouse Strain Highly Susceptible to the Infection
Author(s) -
Saito Nanako,
Hirooka Yoshiko
Publication year - 1983
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.1348-0421.1983.tb03569.x
Subject(s) - biology , spleen , immunology , antiserum , antigen , cyclophosphamide , suppressor , ratón , virology , chemotherapy , genetics , cancer
Susceptibility to Mycobacterium lepraemurium (MLM) infection markedly differed between two mouse strains, CBA/J and C57BL/6. CBA/J mice showed high susceptibility to MLM infection and developed either very weak or no delayed‐type hypersensitivity (DTH) to MLM antigen after the injection of MLM. In contrast, C57BL/6 mice, which were resistant to MLM infection, showed significant DTH reaction to MLM antigen after the injection. Treatment of CBA/J mice with cyclophosphamide (Cy) conferred significant resistance to MLM infection on the CBA/J mice, and the treated mice developed a strong anti‐MLM DTH response after the MLM injection. When spleen cells from MLM‐infected CBA/J mice were transferred to Cy‐treated and MLM‐infected syngeneic mice, the anti‐MLM DTH reaction of the recipient mice was suppressed. Treatment of the spleen cells to be transferred with anti‐Thy‐1.2 antibody or anti‐I‐J k antiserum plus complement abrogated the suppressive activity. Thus, it is suggested that the high susceptibility of CBA/J mice to MLM infection is due to the generation of Cy‐sensitive, I‐J k ‐positive suppressor T cells after infection with MLM.