Physiology of Igd. II. Lack of humoral immune responsiveness in lymph nodes of mice treated with anti-IgD from birth.

Previous studies have shown that anti-IgD-suppressed mice give normal primary and secondary splenic plaque-forming cell responses following i.v. challenge, although mice suppressed by the injection of anti-IgD from birth lack IgD-bearing cells in all lymphoid tissue examined. The present studies show that, in contrast, secondary immune responses in regional lymph nodes of such mice, even after i.v. priming with trinitrophenylated B. abortus, respond to a challenge injection in the footpad up to only less than 10% of control levels. When compared with respect to B cell numbers transferred, primed spleen cells from control and anti-IgD-suppressed mice are about equally effective in producing adoptive secondary plaque-forming cell responses in the spleens of recipient mice. Lymph nodes in recipients of anti-IgD-suppressed primed spleen cells show much lower responses than do lymph nodes in recipients of control primed cells, both upon immediate and delayed challenge with antigen in the footpads. It is concluded that the immunodeficiency caused by suppression with anti-IgD is much more marked in peripheral lymph nodes than in the spleen. The possible relationship of these results to the migratory properties of IgD+ as compared to IgD-B cells is discussed.