Initiation of Primary Antibody Responses by both Circulating and Non-circulating Lymphocytes

Abstract

RECENT extensive studies have shown that lymphocytes which continually circulate between blood and lymph¹ can initiate the allograft and graft versus host reactions^2–9. More limited studies have shown that circulating lymphocytes may also initiate the primary humoral antibody response. The elegant thoracic duct cell transfer experiments of Gowans and his colleagues almost certainly establish that these cells initiate the primary haemolysin response to sheep erythrocytes^9–11. The latter studies imply that circulating lymphocytes can initiate all primary antibody responses. Similar transfer experiments using other antigen–antibody systems, however, have not been reported. The observations described here suggest that circulating thoracic duct lymphocytes can initiate the primary antibody response to some antigens (for example, sheep erythrocytes), and non-circulating splenic lymphocytes can initiate the response to others (for example, alum precipitated tetanus toxoid).