Conditions for the development of IgM- and IgG-antibody-secreting cells from primed mouse splenocytes in vitro.

A modified Marbrook chamber has been devised and manufactured which will fit inside a standard tissue culture Petri dish. A comparison has been made between Mishell-Dutton and modified Marbrook culture systems with respect to their ability to support an immune response by quiescent memory cells exposed to antigen in vitro. Good culture conditions are maintained for considerably longer in the modified Marbrook cultures and it seems that as a consequence these cultures support a large and reliable IgG response, normally absent or very small in cultures of the Mishell-Dutton type. Ease of manipulation and convenient size make the modified Marbrook system a good prospect for future long-term experiments.