Preferential induction of memory T cells for delayed-type hypersensitivity with reduced and alkylated human serum albumin in mice.

Reduction and alkylation of human serum albumin (HSA) resulted in molecular aggregation of the protein. The reduced and alkylated antigen (RA-HSA) was lacking in the ability to induce delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response as well as antibody response to native HSA in mice, although native HSA induced both responses. On the other hand, RA-HSA could stimulate a priming function that accelerated and enhanced the DTH response to native HSA, which, however, failed to stimulate the function. Thus, DTH-related memory activity was dissociated from DTH-related effector activity. The DTH-related memory activity, manifested by the accelerated an enhanced response in RA-HSA-primed mice, could be transferred antigen-specifically by their spleen cells and T-cell enriched fraction, but not by their T-cell depleted spleen cells. The RA-HSA-primed T cells, however, failed to transfer the effector function for DTH response. These results suggested that DTH-related memory T cells belong to different subset(s) of T cells from effector T cells for a DTH response.