In vitro studies of the rabbit immune system: II. Functional characterization of rabbit T and B populations separated by adherence to nylon wool or lysis with anti-thymocyte serum and complement

Abstract

Rabbit spleen lymphocytes with functions analogous to murine T and B cells have been separated by treatment with goat anti-rabbit thymocyte serum plus complement (ATS + C) or passage over columns of nylon wool (NW). ATS + C lysis of spleen cells from sheep erythrocyte (SRBC)-immunized rabbits removes 40–60% of the total cells, but 80–100% of the fully differentiated B cells (PFC) are recovered. Conversely, the primed spleen cells which are nonadherent to NW contain ~5–20% of the applied cells but only 0.05–1.0% of the applied PFC. Neither cell population is capable of producing an anti-SRBC PFC response when cultured individually. However, the two cell types complement each other and act synergistically to reconsitute the in vitro anti-SRBC PFC response. Thus, the rabbit spleen contains separable lymphocyte populations with functions equivalent to T and B cells as defined in the murine system.