HETEROGENEITY OF ANTIBODY-FORMING CELLS

Abstract

Cell suspensions from draining lymph nodes of immune and nonimmune rats were reacted in vitro with ¹²⁵I-labeled antigens. In light microscopic radioautographs of smears, 17% of the immunized cells were tagged by specific antigen; 2.0% of control cells were positive. In electron microscopic radioautographs, 90% of the labeled elements from immune donors were lymphocytes, blast and plasma cells; 10% were monocytes-macrophages or other elements, including naked nuclei. 15% of the labeled cells from control materials were lymphocytes and plasma cells, while 85% were monocytes-macrophages and naked nuclei.