Gamma interferon production in allogeneic stimulation: antigenicity that is sufficient to cause interferon production.

Spleen cells obtained from allogeneic cell-primed mice produced immune interferon when cocultivated with the antigenic cells. The purpose of this study was to clarify the antigenic determinants for immune interferon production in this allogeneic stimulation system. An incompatibility at the K end alone or at the D end alone of the H-2 complex was sufficient for immune interferon induction. No interferon production was observed in the combinations between strains of mice that differ for the non-H-2 regions, including the M locus. Immune interferon-producing cells (IIPC), induced by difference of the H-2K or H-2D regions, recognized the specificities controlled by the H-2K or H-2D regions, respectively; namely, there was no cross-reaction between the two regions. The difference between H-2d and H-2b did not cause interferon production in the combinations of which non-H-2 regions were very similar to each other. IIPC were not induced in the combination, but when IIPC were properly induced in B6 spleen cells, the IIPC could recognize the specificities controlled by the H-2d region (B10D2) and produced immune interferon.