REQUIREMENT FOR CONTINUOUS ANTIGENIC STIMULATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND DIFFERENTIATION OF ANTIBODY-FORMING CELLS

Abstract

The essential role of continuous antigenic stimulation in the development and differentiation of antibody-forming cells as defined in the X-Y-Z immune cell maturation scheme was examined in these studies. Mice were primed with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) in an attempt to induce maximum immune progenitor cell conversion (X → Y). Subsequently antigen was depleted at 1 or 4 days after priming with isologous specific antibody in order to interrupt further immune cell differentiation (Y → Z). It was reasoned that this condition would result in depression of the functional antibody-producing cell compartment as measured in the intact mice and subsequently in enhancement of the sensitized (Y cell) compartment as measured in the spleen cell transfer system. These data were also correlated with systematic studies of the hyperplasia of the spleen germinal centers.