Abstract
To explore mechanisms of T cell regulation governing mucosal IgA immune response, concanavalin A-induced cloned T cell lines from Peyer's patches (PP) as well as spleen were established. The cloned cell lines expressed Thy- 1.2(+), Lyt-l(+)2(-) and were radioresistant (1,500 rad). The capacity of the cloned T cells to regulate Ig synthesis was determined by measuring their effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced polyclonal Ig synthesis by PP B cells. In initial studies Ig secreted by B cells was determined by double antibody radioimmunoassay. LPS in the absence of cloned T cells induced abundant amounts of IgM (average 8,860 ng/2 × 10(5) B cells) and IgG (average 1,190 ng/2 × 10(5) B cells), but little or no IgA. The addition of PP cloned T cells markedly suppressed production of IgM (88 percent at the highest T/B cell ratio, 4:1), but the addition of spleen cloned T cells suppressed only a little or not at all. IgG production was inhibited by both PP and spleen T clone cells (70 percent at the 4:1 T/B ratio), wheras IgA synthesis was enhanced by both clones, but only to a limited degree.