Macrophages from tolerant rabbits as mediators of a specific immunological response in vitro

Abstract

An attempt has been made to evaluate the role of macrophages from rabbits rendered tolerant in neonatal life to BGG in the immune response. The results show that macrophages from a tolerant rabbit took up the antigen to which it was tolerant and stimulated a specific response in the rate of DNA synthesis by spleen cells from an immunized animal. Whatever the role macrophages play in the immune response, no obvious defect of recognition of the antigenic molecules was demonstrated and this would agree with in vivo experiments using rats and a bacterial antigen (Nossal and Ada, 1964), where tolerant animals were able to recognize antigen in a manner characteristic of immune animals.