[Kinetics and morphology of immune reactive cells in the spleen as observed using the immune adherence method. IV. Primary response as influenced by total body irradiation in various intervals following administration of antigen].

The course of immunocytoadherence was followed in the mouse spleen during the primary immune response to intraperitoneal administration of sheep red blood cells at 24 hours, 72 hours and 6 days following a total body iradiation with a dose of 450 r after antigen administration. The number of RFC becomes reduced immediately after irradiation. The reduction thereof always correlates with a relative increase of macrophages. Small and medium-sized lymphocytes rapidly disappear from the population of rosette-forming cells. If the irradiation had been carried out before the radiation-uninfluenced reaction reached its maximum, the large lymphocytes relatively increase in number. In other cases their immunocytoadherent activity also shows a steadily decreasing tendency. During the primary reaction, irradiation always increases the total relative plasma cell count as related to the other RFC. In such cases the propurtion of the mature forms is larger than of the blastic ones. The values observer at the end of the studied postirradiation period in the sourse of the primary reaction are always characterized by a higher proportion of the plasma cell line at about 20 - 25.