Polyclonal response of human lymphocytes to bacterial cell walls, peptidoglycans and teichoic acids.

It has been found earlier that many bacteria are polyclonal activators of human lymphocytes. This phenomenon was further analysed by preparing cell walls, peptidoglycans and teichoic acids from Staphylococcus aureus Wood 46 and Bacillus subtilis and studying their capacity to stimulate human adult and newborn lymphocytes to proliferate and to produce leucocyte inhibitory factor (LIF). All these bacterial surface components acted as polyclonal activators. In our opinion these findings further strengthen the view that in infections there are a variety of bacterial products capable of inducing a polyclonal response of the host.