Aggregated immunoglobulins as antigen-binding receptors of immune lymphocytes

Abstract

At the peak of the primary immune response to sheep's red cells rosette-forming cells, effectively inactivated by antibodies against aggregated mouse immunoglobulin and by a polyA:polyU complex, appear in the spleen of mice. These rosette-forming cells disappear from the spleen on the ninth day after primary immunization and cannot be detected at the peak of the secondary immune response. During cultivation for 24hin vitro of small lymphocytes taken from the spleen of mice on the fith day after immunization with sheep's red cells all rosette-forming cells inactivated by antibodies against aggregated mouse immunoglubulin are seen to disappear. The results are regarded as evidence of the existence of rosette-forming cells possessing antigen-antibody complexes as antigen-binding receptors, at the peak of the primary immune response.