POST-MITOTIC AGE OF MONONUCLEAR CELLS MIGRATING INTO TA-3(St) SOLID TUMORS

Subcutaneous transplantation of 5 × 10⁶ TA-3(St) mammary carcinoma cells into A/J mice produced rapidly growing tumors that showed a substantial accumulation of lymphocytes, monocytes and macrophages. This must have resulted primarily from an influx of circulating cells, since none of the cell types exhibited any significant local proliferation as indicated by 1 hr ³H-TdR uptake. The post mitotic age of the various leukocyte types in circulation of normal and tumor bearing animals, and those appearing within the tumors, was evaluated by a repeated ³H-TdR labeling protocol designed to label newly formed leukocytes. Tumor transplantation (or injection of an equivalent volume of saline in control animals) was preceded by thirteen ³H-TdR injections (12.5 μCi every 8 hr) and followed by eight more injections at equivalent intervals. Animals were serially sacrificed at 5-14 days after tumor transplantation or saline injection. Total lymphocyte labeling in the blood during these intervals was higher in tumor bearing mice (approximately 25% between 5 and 12 days) than in the saline injected controls (approximately 20%), indicating that tumor transplantation resulted in an increase in the proportion of young lymphocytes in circulation. More significantly, a much higher labeling (57-60% at 5-12 days) was exhibited by lymphocytes isolated from the tumors, indicating selective migration (and/or retention) of newly formed lymphocytes within the tumor. This finding applied to lymphocytes in all size categories. Although blood monocyte labeling in the control and experimental animals was similar (e.g. 83% at day 5 and 52% at day 14), significantly higher labeling (e.g. 93% and 70% at the respective intervals) was exhibited by monocytes isolated from tumors. This suggested a preferential accumulation of young monocytes at the tumor site. An identical macrophage labeling pattern compared to that shown by monocytes within the tumor indicated a rapid monocyte-macrophage transition. Since these findings in the present strain-specific solid tumor are similar to those previously obtained in this laboratory in the strain-nonspecific Ehrlich ascites tumor, the phenomenon of selective localization of newly formed mono-nuclear leukocytes appears to be a general occurrence in transplanted murine tumors.     

Kinetics of lymphoid cells in tumor-bearing mice

The distribution patterns of ⁵¹Cr-labeled lymphoid cells from normal C3H and tumor-bearing 6C3HED mice were studied by the method of Bainbridge and Gowland (1). An increased localization of normal recirculating lymphocytes was observed in draining lymph nodes of tumor bearing animals which reached a maximum of 8.4% by the 8th–10th day following transplantation. The proportion of recirculating cells from draining nodes of tumor-bearing animals decreased with the progression of the tumor although their actual numbers increased. This decrease is thought to be related to the invasion of draining nodes by tumor cells.     

Ovarian Tumor-Induced T Cell Suppression Is Alleviated by Vascular Leukocyte Depletion

The ovarian cancer microenvironment recruits an array of immune cells to the site of tumor growth. Within the peritoneal ascites of both humans and mice, the predominant population of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes is a CD11c⁺CD11b⁺ population variably referred to as vascular leukocytes (VLCs), tumor-associated macrophages, and immature dendritic cells. We have previously shown that these cells are critical for tumor growth because their selective elimination from the peritoneal tumor microenvironment inhibited tumor progression. However, the underlying mechanism by which this therapy was efficacious is poorly understood. Here, we use the murine ID8 ovarian tumor model to demonstrate that the tumor microenvironment induces in vivo immunosuppression of T cells and that the SR-A⁺ VLCs mediate this suppression. Importantly, the elimination of SR-A⁺ VLCs from the peritoneum of tumor-bearing mice relieves the T cell suppression. Moreover, the profound changes that VLC elimination has on the immune system are T cell-dependent because the protective antitumor effect of VLC elimination does not occur when CD8 T cells are concomitantly depleted. These results were confirmed and extended with the use of a genetic model for VLC depletion, which demonstrated that short-term therapeutic depletion of VLCs alleviates immunosuppression and allows for efficacious vaccination against model tumor antigens in tumor-bearing mice. These studies provide a mechanistic explanation for how leukocytes contribute to ovarian tumor progression and, correspondingly, how leukocyte depletion inhibits tumor growth.     

In vivo anti-tumor immunity detected by leukocyte adherence inhibition

Summary The immune response of mice to a transplacentally induced alveolar cell tumor was studied with the leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) assay. The lung tumor, designated 85, was induced in a C3HfB/HeN (C3Hf) mouse by l-ethyl-l-nitrosourea (ENU). While a dose of 10⁵ cells of this tumor does not grow in syngeneic C3Hf mice, it does grow readily in (A×C3Hf)F₁ hybrid mice. The tumor possesses a tumor associated transplantation antigen (TATA) which cross-reacts with a normal tissue alloantigen in strain A/HeN (A) mice. Normal mice, tumor-immunized C3Hf mice, and tumor-bearing (A×C3Hf)F₁ mice possessed peritoneal cells, the majority of which adhered rapidly to glass and resisted gentle washing. When incubated with an extract of the 85 tumor, peritoneal cells from tumor-immunized mice demonstrated marked inhibition of adherence (62.4%) compared to similarly incubated peritoneal cells of either normal mice (30.3%) or tumor bearing mice (37.1%). Specificity of the reactivity in the LAI assay was demonstrated with a neuroblastoma extract and peritoneal cells from neuroblastoma-immunized C3Hf mice. Peritoneal cells from lung tumor-immunized mice, but not tumor-bearing mice, responded to a lung extract from strain A mice. In contrast to the microcytotoxicity assay, the LAI assay is capable of distinguishing the effective anti-tumor response of tumor-immunized C3Hf mice from the ineffective immune response of tumor-bearing (A×C3Hf)F₁ mice.     

Role of macrophages in the host response to Lewis lung peritoneal carcinomatosis

Lewis lung (3LL) peritoneal carcinomatosis elicits a complex host response in the peritoneal compartment. The response was delayed, showing few inflammatory cells through day 6 after lethal challenge with 3LL cells. Responses began in about half the mice on day 7 and had appeared in all mice by day 11. On day 7, some mice still showed no detectable 3LL growth in the peritoneal lavage fluid, and no differences in the peritoneal cell populations as compared with the control group. Other tumor-bearing mice, however, had evidence of 3LL cells and hemorrhagic ascites in the peritoneal compartment, with increased numbers of peritoneal macrophages (PM) and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). By day 11, all tumor-bearing mice had 3LL growth and hemorrhagic ascites. On days 7–11, there was a major influx of macrophages with a later influx of PMN between days 11 and 14. Two distinct PM populations were detected on day 7 in mice that showed detectable 3LL peritoneal carcinomatosis: resident PM, which did not express the Mac-2 antigen, and recruited PM, which were Mac-2⁺. At least some resident PM remained in the peritoneal compartment through day 14. Analysis of the kinetics of the cytotoxic capabilities of PM from tumor-bearing mice showed that by day 7 macrophages were able to kill the B16 melanoma tumor target, but not the 3LL target. The PM, however, were able to be activated further to kill the 3LL target by treatment in vitro with lipopolysaccharide and interferon . No inhibition of PM tumoricidal activity could detected in the peritoneal wash of tumor-bearing mice. A lack of activation of PM from 3LL tumor-bearing mice may be involved in progression of peritoneal carcinomatosis.     

Relationship between Immunity and Interferon Production in Macrophages

In vitro interferon (IF) production in peritoneal macrophages of normal and Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-immunized mice was studied. Of ascites cells used, 80% were macrophages, 14% lymphocytes, and 6% polymorphonuclear leukocytes. It was indicated that IF was produced mainly in the macrophages after NDV inoculation. IF production in the macrophages derived from immunized mice was more enhanced than that in those from normal mice. It is not clear at present, however, whether this enhancement is based on immunological specificity. The IF production in the culture of macrophages reached its maximum value in 6 to 9 hr after inoculation of the inducer. After 12 hr, the IF titer in the culture fluid decreased gradually. A possible explanation of this fact is that there may be partial inactivation of IF by some cellular components.     

A granulocytosis-inducing tumor inhibits the production of B lymphocytes in murine bone marrow

Mice bearing a transplantable CE mammary carcinoma have been shown to have greatly augmented rates of neutrophil production coupled with a marked diminution of bone marrow lymphocytes. The objective of the present study was to test whether the loss of lymphocytes, and especially of B cells, from the bone marrow and spleen of tumor-bearing animals was due to a reduced rate of cell production and if so, at what level this response was regulated. A modified 3H-TdR pulse and chase analysis was used to assess the rates of production of small lymphocytes and B cells (stained for c mu and s mu) at weekly intervals after CE tumor transplantation. 3H-TdR was infused continuously for 24 hr, and radioautographs were prepared of bone marrow and spleen cells 0, 24, and 48 hr after termination of the infusion. Pre-B cells (c mu+s mu-) essentially disappeared from the femoral bone marrow by the end of 1 wk of tumor growth, followed by a great reduction in the number of c mu+s mu+ cells in the marrow and s mu + cells in the spleen. Although pre-B cells appeared in the peripheral marrow (caudal vertebrae, metatarsal bones) and spleen of tumor-bearing mice, these cells could not compensate for the continued decrease in the numbers of more mature B cells. In normal mice, during the 48-hr chase period, newly formed, 3H-TdR-labeled, small lymphocytes and s mu+ cells continued to emerge from the prelabeled precursor compartment at a steady rate, but after 1 wk of tumor growth, the number of small lymphocytes and s mu+ cells emerging from the precursor compartment fell steadily during the 48-hr chase period. During the second and third weeks of tumor growth, a steady state appears to have been reached in B cell production, which was at a level approximately 10 times below that of normal. Because pre-B cells are normally maintained by a less mature precursor population (2), the initial disappearance of c mu+s mu- cells suggests that the CE mammary carcinoma exerts its modulatory influence on primary B cell production by inhibiting or eliminating the cells that eventually feed into the pre-B compartment. The nature of the regulatory factors apparently secreted by the tumor and the more precise identity of the target cells are under investigation.     

Influence of the donors' clinical status on in vitro and in vivo tumor-cytotoxic activation of interleukin-2-exposed lymphocytes and their circulation in different organs

Summary In-vitro-generated lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells of BALB/c mice, bearing the syngeneic colon carcinoma C-26 for 7 days, were as efficient as those from normal mice in lysing C-26 cells whereas LAK cells from 14-day tumor-bearing and 5- and 14-day tumor-resected animals had a lower C-26 cytotoxicity. The level of C-26 lysis returned to normal values 30 days after surgery. To identify the best source of LAK cells in vivo, groups of normal mice were treated with 10⁴, 3×10⁴ or 10⁵ U/day of interleukin 2 (IL-2) for 7 days intraperitoneally (i. p.) or intravenously (i. v.) (3×10⁴ dose only). The highest lysis on C-26 was obtained from peritoneal exudate cells of mice given 3×10⁴ and 10⁵ U whereas spleen cells were lytic only when taken from mice treated with 10⁵ U IL-2. Peripheral blood lymphocytes lacked any cytotoxicity except for the group of mice which received IL-2 i. v. The kinetics of in vivo LAK activation in different organs showed a peak of anti-(C-26) lytic activity at day 5 in peritoneal exudate cells and spleen cells of mice given IL-2 for 5 days whereas administration of LAK cells alone had no effect; IL-2 plus LAK cells gave a lower peak of LAK activity as compared with IL-2 alone. A lower level of in vivo LAK activation was found in mice whose tumor was resected 5 days before; such impairment was evident even 14 days after surgery. Homing experiments were carried out with i. v. injected ⁵¹Cr-labelled LAK cells in normal or tumor-resected mice. In normal mice the highest radioactivity at 30 min was found in the lungs; liver and spleen also showed high radioactivity whereas blood had a negligible amount of radioactivity. Radioactivity declined rapidly in lungs (less than 10% after 24 h) while remaining at appreciable levels in the liver after 24 h and 48 h; spleen showed constant levels of 12%–15%. Homing of LAK cells was altered in mice receiving IL-2 i. p. for 5 days with slower and lower radioactivity peaks in the lung and higher levels in liver. In tumor-excised mice lower levels of radioactivity were found in lungs. These results show that: (a) alterations in LAK activity occur in early-tumor-resected and large-tumor-bearing animals; (b) the route of IL-2 administration is critical in LAK activation in vivo; (c) treatment with IL-2 modifies LAK homing.This study was in part supported by grant no. 87.01565.44 of the Finalized Project Oncology of CNR (Rome, Italy)     

THE IN VIVO REUTILIZATION OF LYMPHOCYTIC AND SARCOMA DNA BY CELLS GROWING IN THE PERITONEAL CAVITY

An ascites tumor, Sarcoma I, was transplanted to isologous and homologous mice which had been labeled with tritiated thymidine from 1 to 24 hours previously. Radioautographic preparations revealed labeled host lymphocytes emerging to mingle with the transplanted tumor and the subsequent appearance of nuclear radioactivity in the sarcoma. Sarcoma cells cultured subcutaneously or in Millipore diffusion chambers in previously labeled mice did not demonstrate significant radioactivity. Transplantation of washed, H³-thymidine-labeled lymphocytes to non-radioactive, sarcoma-bearing mice was followed by the gradual appearance of nuclear radioactivity in the sarcoma. The label in the sarcoma was entirely removed by deoxyribonuclease but not by ribonuclease treatment prior to radioautography. Intraperitoneal injections of purified, H³-thymidine-labeled sarcoma or lymphoid DNA in normal or tumor-bearing mice were followed by radioactivity appearing in sarcoma or normal peritoneal mononuclear cells. It was concluded that reutilization of DNA and its metabolites may occur in vivo, and the conditions under which reutilization may be detected are discussed.     

Effect of N-acetylchitohexaose against Candida albicans infection of tumor-bearing mice

A water-soluble oligosaccharide, N-acetylchitohexaose (NACOS-6), was able to enhance the protective effect against Candida albicans infection in mice during the early phase of tumor-bearing. A significant decrease in the number of C. albicans cells in the kidneys of NACOS-6-treated tumor-bearing mice was observed 8 days after the fungal infection, or 15 days after the tumor transplantation. The candidacidal activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes from NACOS-6-treated tumor-bearing mice did not differ from that of NACOS-6-untreated tumor-bearing mice. On the other hand, the candidacidal activities of both macrophages and T lymphocytes increased following administration of NACOS-6 in the early phase of tumor-bearing. The culture supernatant of T lymphocytes from NACOS-6-treated tumor-bearing mice also potentiated the candidacidal activity of casein-induced macrophages. An enhancement of natural killer cell activity of splenic lymphocytes obtained from NACOS-6-treated tumor-bearing mice was also observed.     

The number of the rat peritoneal cells in normal condition, blood loss, and under colchicine injection

The modification of peritoneal cells derivation method proposed for the peritoneum rat, and the absolute amount of peritoneal lymphocytes, monocytes, macrophages, stem and polymorphonuclear neutrophyles, mat cells was determined. The procedure of acute 2% blood loss was found to reduce the total amount of the peritoneal cells due to depletion of lymphocytes accompanied by an increase in amount and proliferative activity of monocyte peritoneal cells, stem neutrophiles appearance in the peritoneal cavity. The subcutaneous injection of colchicine solution reduces the number of the peritoneal macrophages in normal rats, decreases the number of the monocytes, polymorphonuclear neutrophiles and led to disappearance of the stem neutrophiles on the second day of blood loss.     

Circulating T and B lymphocytes of the mouse. II. Lifespan

The average lifespan of circulating lymphocytes was investigated by determining the percentage of labeling of thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL⁵) from mice injected with tritiated thymidine (³HT) for various periods. Percentage of labeling of TDL from normal CBA mice, which consist of approximately 85% T cells and 15% B cells, was found to be directly proportional to the time of ³HT administration. This technique thus failed to demonstrate the presence of more than one population of lymphocytes. Less than 50% of TDL were labeled after ³HT injection for 8 weeks.Percentage of labeling of TDL from nude mice (which consist solely of B cells) was likewise found to be directly proportional to the duration of ³HT injection but occurred at a rate three to four times faster than in non-T cell-depleted CBA mice. Further experiments, in which a marker for B cells was used, allowed the rate of ³HT labeling of B cells to be studied in normal CBA mice. These data corroborated the findings in nude mice and indicated that, with regard to lifespan, thoracic duct B cells consisted of a single population with an average lifespan of 5–7 weeks. Similarly it was calculated that the average lifespan of thoracic duct T cells was in the order of 4–6 months.Studies on the rate of formation of TDL during prolonged thoracic duct drainage of normal CBA mice indicated that the percentage of newly formed cells increased rapidly after 24-hr drainage. The total numbers of newly formed cells, however, were found to remain relatively constant throughout the period of drainage investigated (up to 9 days) except for a transient increase during the second and third day. Newly formed small lymphocytes were found to consist of approximately equal proportions of T cells, B cells, and other “mononuclear” cells which lacked surface markers for either T or B cells. The great majority of large lymphocytes, in contrast, were found to be neither T cells nor B cells and probably belonged to the plasma cell line. In nude mice, production of newly formed lymphocytes during prolonged thoracic duct drainage was found to be very low in comparison with normal CBA mice.     

Effects of neoplasms on inflammation: depression of macrophage accumulation after tumor implantation.

The local accumulation of macrophages at sites of neoplasms may be a critical event in immunologically mediated tumor killing. Individuals with neoplasms, however, have been noted to have depressed monocyte chemotactic responsiveness in vitro. To determine the effect of neoplasms on macrophage migration, mice were implanted subcutaneously with either sarcoma or hepatoma cells and their macrophage migratory function quantified in vivo and in vitro. The ability of tumor-bearing animals to mobilize macrophages to an inflammatory site in vivo was depressed by as much as 61% by 6 days after tumor implantation. The in vitro chemotactic responsiveness of macrophages recovered from the peritoneal cavities of tumor-bearing animals was also markedly depressed. Macrophage migration was not affected by implantation of normal syngeneic or allogeneic tissues. In addition, the accumulation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in vivo was not depressed in tumor-bearing animals. These findings suggest that neoplasms themselves may depress the host's ability to localize macrophages at inflammatory sites in vivo and thereby hinder immunologically mediated tumor destruction.     

Differentiation of lymphocytes in mouse bone marrow. II. Kinetics of maturation and renewal of antiglobulin-binding cells studied by double labeling

DNA labeling by ³H-thymidine in vitro and antiglobulin-¹³¹I binding in vitro were used to determine the development and turnover of immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes in mouse bone marrow.Bone marrow cells from CBA mice previously injected repeatedly with ³H-thymidine for 1–84 hr were exposed to ¹³¹I-labeled rabbit-antimouse globulin for 30 min at 0 °C, and examined radioautographically. The antiglobulin-binding cells in bone marrow were predominantly (97–98%) nondividing small lymphocytes. Some plasmacytoid and monocytoid cells, but not the proliferating large lymphoid cells, also bound antiglobulin. The ³H-thymidine labeling index of the small lymphocyte population showed a rapid exponential increase (50% in 32 hr). The first small lymphocytes to show ³H-thymidine labeling were those lacking antiglobulin-binding capacity, reaching approximately 90% ³H-thymidine labeling after 2 days. Small lymphocytes which bound antiglobulin-¹³¹I at a concentration of 1.0 μg/ml became labeled with ³H-thymidine only after a lag of approximately 1.5 days. More avid antiglobulinbinding cells were delayed a further 12 hr in ³H-thymidine labeling. During in vitro culture the proportion of antiglobulin-binding small lymphocytes increased progressively in bone marrow but decreased in spleen cell suspensions.The results demonstrate a continuous, rapid renewal of immunoglobulin-bearing small lymphocytes in adult mouse bone marrow. Surface immunoglobulin molecules are not detectable when marrow small lymphocytes are first formed, but they appear and increase progressively in density as the cells mature.     

Kinetics of the reactivity of subpopulations of spleen cells of mice bearing virus-induced mammary tumors to syngeneic antigenic extracts in vitro

Summary This study was designed to investigate the nature of lymphocyte reactivity to soluble tumor antigens with respect to the kinetics of the reactivity, the responding cell type, and the role of accessory cells, within a syngeneic system. BALB/c mice were inoculated with 1×10⁶ viable cells of sygeneic MTV-induced mammary tumors. Assessment of proliferative activity of spleen cells of these animals by DNA synthesis (³H-thymidine incorporation in vitro) indicated a biphasic response to stimulation by 200 g of a syngeneic perchloric acid (PCA)-soluble extract (AMMT) of the tumor over a 25-day period, with peak activities at days 13 and 19 post inoculation. The response was predominantly T-cell-mediated. Splenic macrophage population rose from less than 2% of total spleen cells by day 25 without any appreciable change in the T or B cell population. Depletion of spleen cells of macrophages abolished the first peak activity (at day 13) but significantly enhanced the second (at day 19). Reconstitution of the depleted cells with macrophages prepared from peritoneal exudates of tumor-bearing or normal mice restored the responses to undepleted values, thus indicating an accessory role for macrophages in these responses. These results provide new data which should contribute to a better understanding of the tumor-host relationship.     

Gravity sedimentation analysis of human blood leukocytes

A new method of sedimentation analysis of human blood leukocytes is described. Platelets, lymphocytes, monocytes, and polymorphonuclear cells isolated from normal human peripheral blood have been analyzed alone and in mixture by gravity sedimentation employing a computerized scanning instrument. All four classes could be clearly resolved from each other exhibiting sedimentation velocities of 0.6 ± 0.00, 1.04 ± 0.11, 1.27 ± 0.15 and 1.89 ± 0.21 · 10^?4 cm/s, respectively, at 37°C in a 2.5–6.25% Ficoll gradient in Medium 199. Less than 10⁶ cells can be used for analysis. Possible applications of the method are discussed.     

Investigation on the effect of peptides mixture from tumor cells inducing anti-tumor specific immune response

The peptides mixture was prepared from tumor cells by freezingthawing cells, precipitation by heating, followed by acidification of the solution. The activation and proliferation of mouse splenocytes by HSP70-peptide complex, formed by the binding of HSP70 and peptides in vitro, were observed, so was the specific cytotoxicity of the proliferative lymphocytes to tumor cells. The phenotypes of the proliferative lymphocytes were analyzed by a flow cytometer. BALB/c mice inoculated with H22 hepatocarcinoma cells in peritoneal cavity or hind thigh were immunized by injection with HSP70-peptides complex to observe the inhibitory effect of the immunization on tumor and lifetime of tumor-bearing mice. On the other hand, blood samples were collected from the immunized mice to check the functions of liver and kidney. The results showed that the peptides mixture from tumor cells contained tumor-specific antigen peptides which could be presented by HSP70 to activate lymphocytes in vitro, the proliferative lymphocytes were T cells which were specifically cytotoxic to tumor cells, the in vivo growth of both ascitic and solid carcinoma could be suppressed by immunization with HSP70-peptides and the lifetime of tumor-bearing mice was prolonged, the in vivo immunization with HSP70-H22-peptides had no impact on the function of mouse liver and kidney, suggesting that there was no occurrence of autoimmunity in vivo after immunization.     

Opsonization of tumor-reactive T cells in SJL/J mice bearing syngeneic tumors

Summary The role of antigen-reactive cell opsonization (ARCO) in a syngeneic tumor system and its effect on tumor progression was investigated. Thus, anti-tumor reactive T cells were prepared in vivo by immunization of normal SJL/J mice with mitomycin C-inactivated tumor cells of the syngeneic transplantable reticulum cell sarcoma (RCS) line LA-6. Dividing cells were subsequently labeled by injecting iodo-2-deoxyuridine (¹²⁵IUdR) into the same animals 3 days later. Antigen-reactive cells (*ARC) present in the radiolabeled, nylon wool-fractionated spleen cell population taken from these mice on day 4 and injected IV into syngeneic SJL/J mice bearing LA-6 tumors were diverted to the liver and away from the spleen. The effect was maximal by 8 days following inoculation of tumor cells, and was specific inasmuch as ¹²⁵IUdR-labeled cells prepared by immunization with allogeneic spleen or tumor cells which were not opsonized in day-8 LA-6 tumor-bearing mice. Opsonization of *ARC in day-8 LA-6 tumor-bearing mice was completely abrogated by either prior injection of heat-aggregated immunoglobulin into the mice or preincubation of the *ARC in solubilized tumor antigen before injection into tumor-bearing mice, demonstrating the involvement of Fc receptors in the host and antigen-specific receptors on the *ARC, respectively, in the opsonizing process. When anti-LA-6 reactive T cells were incubated in serum from LA-6 tumor-bearing mice and then injected IV into normal syngeneic SJL/J mice, a similar liver diversion was observed. Serum from cyclophosphamide-pretreated mice injected with LA-6 or serum from mice given mitomycin C-inactivated LA-6 cells did not cause opsonization of tumor-reactive T cells, while a mixture of these two sera did have some *ARC opsonizing activity. Further experiments with SJL/J mice bearing spontaneous RCS tumor indicate that tumor-reactive T cells are also opsonized in these mice. The above studies and others suggested that ARCO may play an important role in vivo in the survival of tumors. Abbreviations used in this paper are: ARC, antigen-reactive cells; ARC, radiolabeled antigen-reactive cells; ARCO, antigen-reactive cell opsonization; LA-6 tumor line derived in our laboratory; L.I., localization index; PEG, polyethylene glycol; RCS, reticulum cell sarcoma; STA, soluble tumor antigen; TBS, tumor-bearer serum     

Differentiation of lymphocytes in mouse bone marrow. I. Quantitative radioautographic studies of antiglobulin binding by lymphocytes in bone marrow and lymphoid tissues

The density of surface immunoglobulin on small lymphocytes in the bone marrow and other lymphoid tissues has been compared by radioautographic measurements of antiglobulin binding.Cell suspensions from CBA mice were exposed to ¹²⁵I-labeled rabbit anti-mouse globulin in a wide range of concentrations for 30 min at 0 °C. With increasing concentration of antiglobulin-¹²⁵I the percentage of labeled antiglobulin-binding small lymphocytes in spleen and lymph node suspensions reached well-defined plateau levels. Very few normal or cortisone-resistant thymus cells were labeled under identical conditions. Bone marrow small lymphocytes showed a linear increment in labeled cells throughout the antiglobulin-¹²⁵I dose range, their labeling intensity varied widely, and approximately one half remained unlabeled at high antiglobulin-¹²⁵I concentrations. In 6 wk-old congenitally athymic mice the bone marrow small lymphocyte labeling pattern resembled that in CBA mice, while nearly all (91–97%) small lymphocytes in lymph nodes, thoracic duct lymph and blood, and 75% of those in the spleen, became labeled under plateau conditions. Treatment of cells from 10 wk-old CBA mice with AKR anti-θ C3H serum and complement resulted in almost complete (93%) antiglobulin-labeling of residual small lymphocytes from the spleen but had little effect on bone marrow lymphocyte labeling. Under germfree conditions the proportion of antiglobulin-binding small lymphocytes was slightly elevated in all lymphoid tissues of CBA mice.The results demonstrate that many of the small lymphocytes in mouse bone marrow have readily detectable surface immunoglobulin molecules which vary considerably in density from cell to cell, while others neither have detectable surface immunoglobulin, nor are they θ-bearing, thymus-dependent or recirculating cells. The concept of bone marrow small lymphocytes as a maturing cell population is discussed.