In Vitro Plaque-Forming Cell Responses Induced by Streptococcus pneumoniae in Humans |
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| Authors: | E. BECKMANN D. LEVITT |
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| Affiliation: | Department of Pathology, Michael Reese Hospital, and Departments of Pathology and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, and La Rabida, University of Chicago Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
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| Abstract: | When peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were stimulated in vitro with the rough form of type 2 Streptococcus pneumoniae R36a, the resulting plaque-forming cells (PFC) did not produce antibodies directed against phosphorylcholine, a major antigenic determinant of the cell wall C-polysaccharide. Instead, R36a stimulated polyclonal PFC in PBL and splenic lymphocytes. We compared the polyclonal responses stimulated by R36a with those induced by two well-characterized polyclonal activators (PA), Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). We found that R36a was a poor mitogen for PBL, whereas the other two PA were potent mitogens; that the predominant isotype produced in response to all three PA was IgM; that adherent cells strongly inhibited the polyclonal PFC response to both R36a and Staph. aureus but not PWM; and that T cells were necessary for induction of polyclonal antibody-secreting cells by all three stimuli. |
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