Activation of T and B lymphocytes in vitro: presence of beta2-microblobulin determinants on allogeneic effect factor

Abstract

The biologically acitve entity termed allogeneic effect factor, which is produced by alloantigen-activated T cells and has been shown to regulate triggering and differentiation of B lymphocytes in vitro, has previously been demonstrated to possess antigenic determinants coded by genes in the I region of the H-2 gene complex of the mouse. The studies presented here provide evidence that allogeneic effect factor also possesses antigenic determinants identical or cross-reactive with beta2-microglobulin. These observations suggest an important role for beta2-microglobulin in the mechanism of cell-cell interactions and the consequences of such interactions on lymphocyte triggering and differentiation.