Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol 141, 962-973, Copyright © 1975 by Rockefeller University Press
The in vitro induction of immunological tolerance in the B lymphocyte by oligovalent thymus-dependent antigens
JW Schrader
B-cell tolerance has been induced by oligovalent thymus-dependent antigens
in an entirely in vitro system. Dissociated spleen cells from congenitally
athymic (nu/nu) mice were preincubated for 24 h with 0.1 -- 1 mg/ml of
either fowl gamma globulin (FGG) of DNP-human gamma globulin (DNP-HGG).
After washing, the cells were tested for the ability to mount in vitro,
thymus-independent responses against FGG and DNP. A state of specific
responsiveness to either FGG or DNP was thus demonstrated. Features of this
wholly in vitro system that paralleled previous findings on the in vivo
induction of B-cell tolerance in nu/nu mice were the kinetics, 24 h being
required for tolerance induction in either case, the abrogation of
tolerance induction by the presence of POL both in vivo and in vitro, and
finally the observation that in neither case was there a requirement for
the antigens to be deaggregated. It was shown that DNP-(Fab) 2 fragments
prepared from HGG induced DNP-specific tolerance indicating that the Fc
piece was not required for tolerance induction in this in vitro system.
DNP-bovine serum albumin was less effective than DNP-HGG or DNP-(Fab)2.
Preincubation with subtoxic concentrations of DNP-lysine of DNP-epsilon-
capric acid had only a marginal effect on DNP responsiveness. Since nu/nu
mice, lacking in detectable T-cell function, were used as spleen cell
donors, this work provides further evidence that B-cell tolerance to
thymus-dependent antigens can be induced without the participation of T
cells. It is suggested that B-cell tolerance to thymus-dependent antigens
occurs when the antigen in a sufficient concentration and over a sufficient
period of time has direct access to the B cell. This contact with antigen
must be in the absence of an additional influence provided either by
adjuvants like endotoxin or POL, or by activated macrophages, which may be
stimulated by activated T cells; otherwise not tolerance but B-cell
activation will occur.