Specificity of a mycoplasma mitogen for lymphocytes from human and various animal hosts.

Spleen lymphocytes from Lewis and Buffalo rats and peripheral blood lymphocytes from 10 human donors exhibited high levels of transformation when exposed to Mycoplasma arthritidis supernatants. In contrast, spleen lymphocytes from rabbits and guinea pigs and peripheral blood lymphocytes from sheep and calves failed to transform when exposed to M. arthritidis supernatants. The lymphocytes from all hosts were transformed in the presence of phytohemagglutinin or concanavalin A or both Serological studies failed to provide evidence that the responding hosts were presensitized against M. arthritidis antigens.