Lymphocytes and specificity of eosinophilia.

Repeated injections of soluble antigen derived from the body fluid of Ascaris lumbricoides induced a substantial accumulation of eosinophils in the peritoneal fluid of mice. Evidence of an underlying immune mechanism was sought. A single injection of antigen was ineffective in eliciting eosinophilia, but it primed recipients to respond to a subsequent injection 30 days later. Furthermore, this priming effect could be transferred with lymphoid cells. Depletion of T cells by adult thymectomy and irradiation abrogated the ability of mice to respond. Specificity was demonstrated in primed lymphoid cells which imparted to recipients the capacity to react with increased numbers of eosinophils to a single injection of soluble antigen. Unprimed donor cells, or those primed with an unrelated antigen, were incapable of transferring the capacity for an eosinophil response. Evidence has been presented to suggest that lymphocytes which impart this specificity are T cells.