The Effect of Anti-Lymphocyte Globulin on Cell-Mediated Resistance to Infection

Abstract

Mice which survive infection with Listeria monocytogenes are highly resistant to reinfection and specifically hypersensitive to Listeria antigens (1). The resistance and the accompanying state of delayed-type hypersensitivity can both be transferred to normal recipients with immune lymphoid ceils obtained from actively infected donors (2). Since neither of these immunological modalities can be transferred with immune serum (1, 2, 3), it is a useful model for studying the action of anti-lymphocyte globulin on an immune mechanism which is mediated by activated lymphoid cells to the apparent exclusion of humoral antibody.According to current dogma, cell-mediated mechanisms of immunity are initiated by uncommitted lymphoid ceils which transform, divide, and differentiatc to form immunologicaUy committed cells. In this circumstance, antilymphocyte gioblflin (ALG) would have two potential targets against which to act. The first would consist of the immunocompetent cells which become engaged early in the infection, and the second would be the immunologicaIly committed progeny of the first. The former belong to the afferent and the latter to the efferent limb of the arc. The cells which were shown in the accompanying paper (2) to protect normal recipients against a lethal challenge infection and render them hypersensitive to Listeria antigens are obviously committed cells. The present paper describes the action of ALG on this cell type. The effect of ALG on the afferent arc, and its influence on delayed-type hypersensitivity, will be reported separately. Materials and MethodsGeneraL--The animals, organisms, method of immunization, preparation of spleen cell suspensions, and measurement of anti-Liasria resistance were described in the preceding paper (2).A~i-Lympkocyte GlobuHn.--An anti-serum against mouse lymphoid cells was prepared in rabbits by the intravenous injection of 109 living thymocytes, given on two occasions at an interval of 2 wk. Begdnnlng I wk later, the animals were bled twice weekly.

The Mechanism of Action of Heterologous Antilymphocytic Serum: The Biological Activity of Rabbit Macrophage‐cytophilic Antilymphocytic Antibody in Mice

“…Tile absence of antimacrophage activity in U.A.M.L.S. which has been demonstrated in both the present and other studies (Mackaness and Hill, 1969;Gotjamanos and Gill. 1970) excludes such a pos.sibility in the case of antilymphocytic antibody.…”

Requirement of Thymus (T) Lymphocytes for Resistance to Listeriosis

“…Mackaness and colleagues have shown that the lymphocytes responsible for Listeria resistance are sensitive to anti-lymphocyte serum (13), appear in the thoracic duct early after stimulation, do not recirculate from blood to lymph (14), and tend to accumulate in sites of specific or nonspecific inflammation (15). These results may be characteristics of T lymphocytes which m~y show functional heterogeneity during their life-span.…”

Evidence for T Cell-dependent Immunity to Bacteroides fragilis in an Intraabdominal Abscess Model

“…Immunity to both Mycobacterium tuberculosis (15,16) and Listeria monocytogenes (17,18) has been shown to be T cell-dependent, and interestingly, another abscess producing organism, Staphylococcus aureus, has also been shown to elicit delayed hypersensitivity in mice (19). The effector mechanism by which T cell-dependent immunity against B. fragilis-induced abscesses operates has yet to be defined.…”