Identification, functional characterization and partial purification of thymus-derived lymphocytes in inbred hamsters.

Antiserum specific for hamster thymus-derived lymphocytes, prepared by immunization of rabbits with brain tissue from MHA/ssLAK hamsters, was, in the presence of guinea-pig complement, cytotoxic to hamster thymocytes > lymph node cells >spleen cells, while virtually unreactive against bone marrow cells. This antiserum markedly inhibited spleen cell response to the T cell mitogen, Concanavalin A, while the response to the B and T cell mitogen, pokeweed, was much less inhibited. These in vitro effects of the anti-hamster T cell serum were confirmed by utilizing lymphoid cells from thymectomized, lethally-irradiated, bone marrow-reconstituted hamsters. Lymph node cells from such animals were killed by the anti-T cell serum only to the same extent as bone marrow cells, while spleen cells from these animals gave a good response to pokeweed mitogen but were virtually unresponsive to Concanavalin A. Passage of hamster spleen cells over nylon wool columns yielded effluent populations highly enriched in T lymphocytes. The eluted cells were fully capable of T ceil functions, as determined by their blastogenic response to various T and B ceil mitogens in vitro and their ability to inhibit the growth of syngeneic SV40 tumours in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]