Reactivity of Lymphoid Cells Isolated from the Tracheobroncheal Lymph Nodes of Two Guinea-Pig Strains with High or Low Susceptibility to Respiratory Anaphylaxis

Abstract

The mechanisms underlying the different sensitivity to respiratory anaphylaxis were studied in two inbred strains of guinea pigs with high (IMM/S) or low (IMM/R) sensitivity to ovalbumin (OA) aerosol-induced respiratory anaphylaxis. Guinea pigs were immunized with OA in Freund’s complete adjuvant and lymphocyte stimulation tests were done with cells from the tracheobroncheal lymph nodes (TBL) draining the airways, from peripheral blood lymphocytes and from the axillary and inguinal lymph nodes. The TBL of the IMM/R strain had a signficantly lower response than those of the IMM/S strain. This selectively low response, which was not antigen specific, could be increased by cyclophosphamide pretreatment. The high TBL response in the IMM/S strain was decreased by OA inhalations to the level of the IMM/R strain. OA inhalations decreased the IgE response in the IMM/S but not the IMM/R strain. Different interpretations of these findings are discussed, with emphasis on the possibility that an inherent suppressor cell population in the TBL are involved.