Nucleic acid-specific suppressor T cells.

The concept of using cell-bound antigens as tolerogen was applied to nucleic acid. Nucleoside was linked directly to spleen cell suspensions. Intravenous administration of nucleoside coupled to isogeneic spleen cells into mice generated suppressor cells that diminished the formation of antibody-forming cells either to a T-dependent antigen in vivo or to a T-independent antigen in vitro. Suppressor cells were nucleoside specific, but the specificity of immune suppression seems to be somewhat broader than that of tolerance to a single nucleoside. The ability to raise nucleic acid-specific suppressor T cells may have implications for both the pathogenesis and treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.