Trypanosoma gambiense: Enhancement of agglutinin and protection in subpopulations by immune spleen cells

On Day 5 after immunization with Trypanosoma gambiense, spleens were removed from immune mice. Spleen cell suspensions were passed through a glass bead column and separated into filtrate and adherent cell subpopulations. Each subpopulation was transferred into normal mice intraperitoneally, and the production of agglutinins and the protection against experimental infection with T. gambiense were studied in vivo. The adherent subpopulation contained cells which were capable of producing and releasing the agglutinin into the serum of the recipient, but the filtrate did not contain such cells.The adherent fraction was found to be effective in the prevention of experimental infection, but the filtrate was only slightly effective. When both cell subpopulations were mixed together, immune responses were enhanced. With cortisone and anti-mouse thymic cell serum treatment before immunization with trypanosomal antigen, agglutinin production was greatly suppressed, and the mice were not protected against experimental infection. However, after treatment of immune spleen cells in vitro with anti-mouse thymic cell serum, recipients of viable cells showed agglutinin production and were found to withstand infection.