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G K Lewis

Publications and source records attributed to G K Lewis.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

A hemolytic plaque assay for activated murine T cells.

In an earlier report, it was shown that murine spleen cells cultured with concanavalin A (Con A) released into the culture supernatants helper and suppressor substances for antibody production. The present communication describes the production of rabbit antisera against culture supernates from Con A-activated spleen cells and their use in a plaque assay for mitogen-activated T cells. The plaque assay, utilizing SRBC to which Staphylococcal protein A had been coupled, the developing anti-supernatant antiserum and guinea pig complement, readily detected secreting T cells. The T-cell nature of the plaque-forming cells (PFC) was established principally by the following: (a) the majority of lymphocytes in the centers of plaques were Thy-1-positive by fluroescence; (b) spleen cells depleted of B cells by incubation in plastic dishes coated with rabbit anti-mouse Ig antibody gave greatly enriched PFC responses; (c) anti-Thy-1 and anti-Lyt-2.2 treatment of spleen cells almost completely depleted PFC; (d) T-cell mitogens (Con A and phytohemagglutinin) but not B-cell mitogens (lipopolysaccharides) induced PFC responses; (e) T cells maintained in culture for 10 d with Con A and T-cell growth factor yielded PFC. Kinetic and dose response studies showed that high doses of mitogen induced rapidly appearing T-PFC and the responses peaked at day 1--2 of culture. Lower doses of mitogen-induced PFC required longer periods of incubation for detection, indicating that cell activation and secretion may be different dose-dependent activities of mitogens. Another noteworthy finding was that the antiserum reacted with surface antigens of T-PFC, indicating that secreted products are expressed on the membranes of T cells, offering the possibility of isolating populations of cells with specific secretory potential. Although the precise nature of the T-cell products detected by the antiserum used in this assay are unresolved, 10% of the target-cell-adherent population from spleen cells of BALB/c mice sensitized to L929 cells formed plaques. This suggests that the antiserum has significant activity against the products of cytotoxic T cells, a finding which accords with the activity of anti-Lyt-2.2 serum against mitogen-induced T-PFC. The method clearly offers new possibilities for the analysis of T cells and their products and should provide an important approach to the clonal analysis of lymphokine production.

Animals

Rosette formation between murine lymphocytes and erythrocytes. A new locus in the H-2 region.

More than 5% of murine splenic lymphocytes form rosettes with syngeneic erythrocytes. This property was maximally expressed when the lymphocytes were cultured for 24 h before rosetting. About 70% of the rosetting lymphocytes were B cells and 30% were T cells on the basis of surface immunoglobulin and the Thy-1-antigen. Capping surface immunoglobulin had no effect on the capacity of lymphocytes to form rosettes, indicating that the receptor in question was not immunoglobulin. The capacity of lymphocytes to form rosettes with erythrocytes from other strains of mice was H-2 restricted. Extensive pairings of congenic and recombinant strains as donors of lymphocytes and erythrocytes showed that none of the known loci within the H-2 region-controlled rosetting. The involvement of regions on chromosome 17, telomeric or centromeric to H-2, was also excluded. The data were only compatible with the conclusion that this form of self-recognition is associated with a new locus (or loci) mapping between H-2G and H-2D.

Animals

Purification of functional, determinant-specific, idiotype-bearing murine T cells.

Strain A/J mice immunized with azobenzenearsonate (ABA)-mouse IgG conjugates develop suppression for anti-trinitrophenyl(TNP) responses to doubly conjugated (ABA,TNP) proteins. This suppression is specific for the ABA epitope and is mediated by T cells in cell transfer experiments. ABA-binding T cells from suppressed animals were purified by a two-stage procedure in which B cells were removed from spleen cell populations by adherence to plastic surfaces coated with anti-mouse Ig antibody, followed by binding the nonadherent population (more 95 percent Thy-1-positive) to surfaces coated with ABA-protein conjugates. Approximately 90 percent of the cells recovered by temperature-dependent elution from the ABA plates (similar to 2 percent of the spleen cells) bound antigen immediately afterward, and up to 50 percent of the cells bound anti-cross-reactive idiotype antibody. On the other hand, the nonadherent T-cell population was completely negative in the antigen- binding and idiotype assays. Another distinguishing feature of the two T-cell populations was that 78 percent of the adherent cells, but only 2 percent of the nonadherent cells, were Ia positive, although the specific I-region marker(s) expressed on the cells was not identified. The biological function of the antigen-binding T cells was investigated using a standard cell transfer protocol. Suppressor cells were enriched in the adherent population by a factor of at least 25, establishing that functional, epitope-specific, idiotype-bearing T cells can be significantly purified by this procedure. Note Added in Proof. We have recently isolated two types of ABA-binding molecules biosynthetically labeled with (35)S-methionine from NP-40 lysates of purified antigen-specific T cells. The molecules were purified by adsorption onto an ABA-Sepharose immunoadsorbent followed by elution with 9 M urea. Autoradiograms of SDS-PAGE of the eluates revealed components with tool wt of approximately 60,000 and 33,000 dahons. These molecules were not present in eluates from a bovine IgG-Sepharose control immunoadsorbent and thus represent specific ABA-binding products synthesized by T cells.

Animals

Activation of B cell subsets by T-dependent and T-independent antigens.

The capacity of the trinitrophenyl haptenic group coupled to a series of chemically dissimilar carriers to cross-stimulate putative T-dependent and T-independent B-cell subpopulations was determined by using an in vitro limiting dilution technique to generate primary IgM responses. TNP-Ficoll and TNP-dextran, two T-independent antigens with little or no polyclonal mitogenicity, stimulate the same population of anti-TNP precursors, which is distinct from the precursor population activated by TNP-LPS, a T-independent polyclonal mitogen, or by TNP-HRBC, a T-dependent antigen. TNP-LPS and TNP-HRBC activate the same precursor population, indicating that LPS can substitute for the T cell signal in T-dependent B-cell responses, whereas nonmitogenic T-independent antigens cannot. However, the cumulative evidence from this and other laboratories suggests that LPS and T-dependent antigens activate B cells by different mechanisms. TNP conjugates of Ficoll and dextran, which are relatively poor inducers of polyclonal B cell activation, induced larger anti-TNP clones than did TNP-LPS, a strong polyclonal mitogen. Macrophages are required for the anti-TNP-Ficoll/anti-TNP-dextran response, whereas, a similar requirement has not been shown for the anti-TNP-LPS response. Thus, macrophages may function as polyclonal B cell activators in T-independent responses. Experiments in which TNP was coupled directly onto the macrophage surface support this hypothesis. B-cell heterogenity in T-dependent responses is suggested by experiments using the C3 receptor as a marker for functional subpopulations of B cells. Murine T cells cooperate with B cells that carry a receptor for C3 and with at least some B cells which lack the C3 receptor in a primary in vitro antibody response. In vitro culture experiments using populations of B cells fractionated on the basis of the C3 receptor showed that CR+ cells were unable to make T-dependent antibody responses in the presence of anti-C3 antibody, whereas the response of CR- B cells was unaffected. Using irradiated, carrier-primed spleen cells from B10.A mice as a source of helper cells for B cells derived from various congenic strains in an in vitro primary IgM response to TNP-KLH, CR+ B cells cooperated across haplotype differences in the I region of the MHC, whereas CR- B cells did not. Preliminary mapping experiments for the genetic restriction of CR- B cells suggest complementation between the I-A and I-C subregions of the MHC. These findings tentatively suggest the existence of alternative cooperative pathways between T cells and B cell subpopulations.

Animals

T-lymphocyte activation by immunogenic determinants.

Synthetic antigens have been of great value in elucidating the relationships between antigen structure and lymphocyte activation. The compound RAT behaves as a monofunctional antigen in guinea pigs and mice, inducing T-lymphocyte responses without appreciable circulating antibody, although the ABA-specific B cell population is expanded by immunization with the monovalent molecule. On the other hand, bifunctional antigens composed of one RAT moiety serving as a carrier and a second chemical group, either identical to or different from RAT, serving as a hapten, induced antibody responses. In such responses, T cell specificity was always directed against the RAT component. Using symmetrical bifunctional antigens with rigid or flexible spacers between the two determinants, marked differences in structural requirements for cell triggering, assessed by antigen-induced lymphocyte proliferation, and for cell cooperation, determined by antibody formation, were found. Rigidly spaced bifunctional antigens serve admirably for cooperation but poorly for T cell activation, underscoring the advantage of two-point binding for the latter.

Animals

Radionuclide kymography for the assessment of regional myocardial wall motion.

Regional myocardial wall motion is usually evaluated qualitatively from ECG-gated end-systolic and end-diastolic blood-pool images. Radionuclide kymography, which displays a one-dimensional scintigraphic image in time, synchronized with the electrocardiogram, provides a method to quantitate this motion. The technique is analogous to M-mode ultrasound in that one dimension is displayed as a function of time, but the activity distribution is displayed in place of acoustic interfaces. The motion of regional myocardial segments can be measured from multiple kymographic projections across the cardiac blood pool, after equilibration of a radioactive tracer. Radionuclide kymography is potentially better quantitatively than gated blood-pool imaging and is not hindered by viewing windows as are single- and multiple-transducer ultrasonography. Regional wall motion determined from radionuclide kymography correlated well with that determined from contrast left ventriculography in a series of patients. Since the kymographic sweep is initiated by the R wave of the ECG and proceeds continuously throughout the cardiac cycle, the temporal sequence of regional myocardial contraction can be directly assessed and related to corresponding portions of the ECG.

Computers

Carrier-directed anti-hapten responses by B-cell subsets.

The capacity of the trinitrophenyl (TNP) haptenic group, coupled to a series of chemically dissimilar carriers, to cross-stimulate putative T- dependent and T-independent murine B-cell subpepulations was determined by using an in vitro limiting dilution technique to generate primary IgM responses. It was found that TNP-Ficoll and TNP-dextran, two T- independent antigens with little or no polyclonal mitogenicity, stimulate the same population of anti-TNP precursors, which is distinct from the precursor population activated by TNP-bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a T-independent polyclonal mitogen, or TNP-horse erythrocytes (HRBC), a T-dependent antigen. On the other hand, TNP-LPS and TNP-HRBC activate the same precursor population, indicating that LPS can substitute for the T- cell signal in T-dependent B-cell responses, whereas nonmitogenic T- independent antigens cannot. However, the cumulative evidence from this and other laboratories strongly indicates that LPS and T-dependent antigens activate B cells by different mechanisms. Of particular interest, LPS is incapable of activating B cells responsive to weakly- or nonmitogenic T-independent antigens. Based on clonal burst size, T-dependent antigens are capable of inducing greater antigen-specific B-cell proliferation than T-independent antigens. However, TNP conjugates of Ficoll and dextran, which are relatively poor inducers of polyclonal B-cell activation, induced larger anti-TNP clones than did TNP-LPS, a strong polyclonal mitogen. The findings reinforce the evidence favoring existence of multiple B- cell subpopulations with distinctive activation pathways. They also strengthen the proposition that a given B-cell subset can be activated by more than one mechanism.

Animals

Complement-dependent and -independent pathways of T cell-B cell cooperation.

BDF1 mice treated with CoV had markedly reduced levels (less than 20%) of native serum C3 32 hr later, whereas the frequency of splenic CR+ cells was normal. CoV treatment before immunization reduced the IgM PFC response to a T-dependent antigen (TNP-SRBC) by more than 60%. Inclusion of highly specific anti-C3 antibody had no effect on the T-dependent IgM response of CR- B cells. The residual PFC responses in cultures of unfractionated spleen cells treated with anti-C3 could be largely or completely accounted for by CR- B cells in the cultures. The effect of anti-C3 antibody was not due to cytotoxicity. These data collectively indicate that the effect of CoV on T-dependent antibody responses is due to decreased C3 in serum rather than to interaction of C receptors directly with CoV or with C3 cleavage products. They suggest the existence of at least two distinct pathways of T-B cooperation, one in which C3 is an obligatory participant and another in which it may be uninvolved.

Animals