Development of B cell subsets: effect of priming on in vitro TNP-LPS responsiveness.

Mice were injected with DNP-derivatives of thymus dependent (DNP-OA) and thymus-independent (DNP-Ficoll and TNP-LPS) antigens, and the response to TNP-LPS in vitro was studied after several priming periods. DNP-OA priming decreases the amount of cells responding to TNP-LPS in vitro. In the case of DNP-Ficoll and TNP-LPS-primed cells, there is an initial burst of responsiveness to TNP-LPS, which progressively decreases until an abolishment of TNP-LPS responsiveness is found at day 40 after immunization. The sensitivity to TNP-LPS reappears as new precursor cells differentiate into mature cells. We suggest that B cells progressively gain the capacity to respond to thymus-independent and thymus-dependent antigens (B1-B2 differentiation) and that challenge with a particle antigen increases the ratio of maturation throughout the pathway.