Tissue Culture Studies on Bacterial Hypersensitivity

Abstract

Tissue culture methods have been but little used in the elucidation of the various problems encountered in bacterial hypersensitivity. The few studies reported have dealt with tissues from tuberculin sensitive animals. Rich and Lewis (1) showed that tuberculin in proper concentration had a selective toxic effect on cells from tuberculous animals. They believed that the tuberculin sensitivity was inherent in the cells, and that the cytotoxic effect was the result of an antigen-antibody reaction. Aronson (2) confirmed this work and also demonstrated the cytotoxic specificity of various tuberculins on sensitive cells as compared with an indifferent effect of extracts made from other acid-fast organisms. In another series of experiments he (3) compared the reaction of tissues from animals sensitized to proteins with that of tissues sensitive to tuberculin when the respective antigens were added to the culture media. Horse serum added to cultures of tissues from horse serum sensitized animals produced no demonstrable cytotoxic effect; this was in marked contrast to the cytotoxic action of tuberculin on tissues from tuberculous animals; he thus showed that there is a fundamental difference between the two types of hypersensitive tissues. We (4) have also noted that cells from animals sensitized with horse serum, egg albumin or beef lens were not specifically inhibited when the respective antigens were added to tissue cultures. As a preliminary to an analysis of other types of bacterial hypersensitive states it was thought advisable to make a detailed study of tuberculin allergy since this is a prototype. This communication deals, therefore, with a partial repetition of previous work with amplifications and extensions.

Cellular hypersensitivity to components of intestinal mucosa in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease

“…Animal experiments with immunocompetent cells from peritoneal exudate, lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow, and peripheral blood indicate that the migration inhibition response is a parameter of cellular hypersensitivity (Rich and Lewis, 1932;Moen and Swift, 1936;Raffel, 1948;Heilman, Howard, and Carpenter, 1958;Darlington and Scherago, 1960;Johnson and Scherago, 1960;Svejcar and Johanovsk', 1961;George and Vaughan, 1962;Heilman, 1963;Carpenter and Brandriss, 1964;David, 1964a and1964b) and a cell population from human peripheral blood has been shown to possess the same kind of reactivity (S0borg and Bendixen, 1967;S0borg 1967 and1968).…”

The Rôle of the "Wax" of the Tubercle Bacillus in Establishing Delayed Hypersensitivity

“…If we infer from this experience that a relatively high level of delayed hypersensitivity is necessary for the occurrence of the corneal response, the present results suggest that the wax treatment is very effective in this regard with egg albumin antigen. (8,(19)(20)(21)(22) point to the usefulness of tissue.…”

Studies on Tuberculin Fever

“…(7) provides an appropriate system for the study of this hypothesis, for there is considerable evidence indicating that O.T. selectively damages tuberculin-sensitive ceils, ineluding granulocytes (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). Furthermore, passive transfer of tuberculin hypersensitivity has only been unequivocally accomplished with white cells or their products (17)(18)(19).…”