Effects of cortisone on H-2 agglutinin response in normal and thymectomized adult mice

Abstract

Cortisone suppresses circulating H-2 agglutinins when given prior to the injection of soluble cell extracts but not when the same antigens are given as cells. This same difference in antigen handling is observed in adult cortisone-treated thymectomized mice. Thus thymus as such is not involved in these differences in antigen handling. The spleen of adult thymectomized mice is as sensitive to cortisone as that of intact or sham-operated animals: after a strong initial drop in weight, the spleen recovers even during cortisone treatment in both intact and thymectomized mice. When a second cortisone treatment is given, the spleen loses about the same weight fraction as the first time in thymectomized and intact mice. These findings indicate that a fraction of either thymus or marrow-dependent lymphocytes differentiates in the spleen to become cortisone-sensitive. All these facts taken together show that antigen size per se is the main determining factor in antigen processing, i.e. the cellular path involved in antibody production.