Blotting methods applied to investigations of the mitogenic activity of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)

PHA polypeptides were separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose filters which were then cut into identical discs and used to perform blastogenic stimulation on cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes. This method offers the following advantages: the high resolution of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the sensitive immunochemical identification of the polypeptides involved in the mitogenic responses of lymphocytes, the determination in the same experiment of the molecular weight, antigenicity and biological activities of the proteins.