An analysis of the defective response of CBA/N mice to T-dependent antigens.

CBA/N mice fail to respond to T-independent antigens, and give a diminished response to T-dependent antigens. The cellular basis of the diminished response to T-dependent antigens in this strain was analyzed by means of adoptive transfers of various primed cell populations along with cells from the immunologically normal, histocompatible strain CBA/CaJ. CBA/N mice behaved normally as recipients and had normal levels of spleen helper cell activity. However, CBA/N spleen cells, used as a B cell source, produced only 56% as much antibody as CBA/CaJ cells. Since CBA/N mice have a relative frequency of immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes roughly half that of normal mice, these results suggest that CBA/N mice have a quantitative defect in spleen B cells responsive to T-dependent antigens.