Role of lipids in the immune response. I. Localization to a lipid-containing fraction of the active moiety of an inhibitor (SIF) of lymphocyte proliferation.

By further study, a previously described inhibitor of lymphocyte proliferation and immunoglobulin synthesis, soluble inhibitory factor (SIF), has been shown to comprise two moieties; a nondialyzable protein, apparently inert with regard to inhibition of proliferation, and a polar lipid bound to the protein fraction, presumably by hydrophobic interaction. The lipid contained the activity responsible for inhibition of PHA-induced DNA synthesis. It was tentatively identified as a lipid with an as yet unidentified polar group, on the basis of mobility on thin layer chromatographic plates and behavior on silicic acid.