| Abstract: | ![]()
Interleukin 2 (IL 2) was obtained from culture fluids of Con A-stimulated rat spleen cells and purified by repeated Sephacryl S-200 column chromatography. The purified IL 2 showed a direct mitogenic effect on C57BL/6 mouse spleen cells and lymph node cells but not on unfractionated thymocytes. Contamination of Con A in the IL 2 was ruled out by the finding that the mitogenic effect of the IL 2 was not diminished by addition of alpha-methyl-D-mannoside in the reaction mixture. The treatment of the spleen cells with anti-Thy 1.2 and complement abolished the response to the IL 2, indicating that the IL 2-responding cells bear a T cell marker. Although unfractionated thymocytes did not blastogenically respond to the IL 2, fractionation of thymocytes by means of discontinuous gradient centrifugation with Percoll resulted in a minor cell population which strongly responded to the IL 2 stimulation. The cells were distributed in lower density fractions. The cells distributed in higher density fractions did not respond to the IL 2. |
