Thymic function in NZB mice. III. Impairment of the activity of specific suppressor cells involved in the regulation of antibody production against sheep red blood cells.

Spleen cells from DBA/2 mice immunized with high numbers of sheep red blood cells specifically suppress the primary anti-SRBC antibody response of syngeneic recipients specifically suppress the primary anti-SRBC antibody response of syngeneic recipients after in vivo transfer. Such suppressive activity of the immune spleen cells is mediated by null cells, or by T cells resistant to the cytotoxic activity of anti-Thy 1.2 antiserum plus complement. The primary anti-SRBC antibody response is much higher in NZB mice than in DBA/2 mice, and the suppressive activity of syngeneic immune spleen cells is much lower in NZB than in DBA/2 recipients. Immune spleen cells from DBA/2 donors do not provide more effective suppression than NZB spleen cells in NZB recipients. Conversely, immune spleen cells from NZB donors strongly suppress the anti-SRBC primary response of DBA/2 recipients to the same extent as DBA/2 immune spleen cells. Finally, NZB mice generate specific suppressor cells but their primary antibody response is not sensitive to this suppressor activity.