Evidence for the Release of Mitogenic Factors by Both T and B Lymphocytes in the Human

Abstract

Lymphocytes incubated with antigens or nonspecific stimulatory agents may release factors that induce DNA synthesis in other lymphocytes. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether such mitogenic factors (MF) are produced by both T and B cells in the human Both T- or B-cell-enriched cell preparation from peripheral blood were found to release MF during or after incubation with phytohemagglutinin or pokeweed mitogen Concanavalin A covalently bound to Sepharose triggered B-cell preparation to higher MF release than either T cells or unfractionated lymphocyte suspensions. These results strongly indicate that both T and B cell in the human are able to produce MF.