The existence of autoreactive B cells was predicted by theoretical considerations and, recently, confirmed by direct experiments. The aim of the present work was to investigate if the capacity of self-reactive B cells to be activated with different polyclonal B-cell activators (PBA) reflects the heterogeneity of the response as seen in all the Ig-positive cells. We injected mice with dextran sulfate, lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli 055:B5, and purified protein derivate of turbercle bacteria RT32 and studied the complement-dependent cytotoxicity against syngeneic spleen cells caused by the sera from injected mice with regard to the different parameters used for characterization of B-cell subpopulations. It was found that the capacity of self-reactive B cells to secrete antibodies reflects the polyclonal-activating capacity of the PBA used. The implications of these findings for the understanding of the triggering mechanism of B lymphocytes and for self-nonself discrimination are discussed.
Article|
January 01 1977
Characterization of self-reactive B cells by polyclonal B-cell activators.
D Primi
L Hammarström
C I Smith
G Möller
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1977) 145 (1): 21–30.
Citation
D Primi, L Hammarström, C I Smith, G Möller; Characterization of self-reactive B cells by polyclonal B-cell activators.. J Exp Med 1 January 1977; 145 (1): 21–30. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.145.1.21
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