The Reaction of three Purified Lectins with Guinea Pig Lymphocytes

Three purified phytohemagglutinins, LcH-A, LcH-B, and AbH bind to guinea pig lymphocytes, the first two stimulating lymphocytes in culture and the last causing no stimulaton. By fluorescence microscopy essentially every examined lymphocyte isolated from various lymphoid organs bound both LcH-A and AbH. From the fact that both the stimulant (LcH-A) and the nonstimulant (AbH) showed similar microscopic staining patterns, it is suggested that the type of staining pattern seen is not directly related to the stimulation process. Although LcH-A and LcH-B have very similar specificities, they have subtly different lymphocyte stimulating properties, the former being a better stimulant for blood and lymph node cells and the latter a better stimulant of thymus cells. Despite the fact that AbH is not a stimulator of guinea pig lymphocytes, it could, under certain conditions, significantly affect the stimulation of guinea pig lymphocytes by LcH-A.