[Kinetics and morphology of immune reaction cells in the spleen studied using the immuno-cyto-adherence reaction. V. Secondary response and its modification by whole-body irradiation at different intervals following administration of antigen].

Observations were made of the course of secondary immunological response, using the immuno-cyto-adherence method under the influence of 450 r general body irradiation on murine spleen following secondary ram erythrocyte immunization. Irradiation was applied 24 hours, 72 hours and 6 days after an i.p. administration of antigen. Irradiation was immediately followed by an absolute as well as relative drop in RFC number and by an overall drop in splenic cell number. In case of irradiation applied prior to reaching the secondary reaction quantitative maximum, there was a development of the increment and another RFC quantitative maximum was reached between days 15--20 after irradiation. Small and medium size lymphocyte values were seen decreasing immediately after irradiation. Where irradiation took place prior to reaching the quantitative maximum of a normally proceeding anamnestic reaction, large lymphocytes constituting RFC were increasingly represented after a certain period of stagnation or even without it. Plasmatic series cells on irradiation tended to increase their total share to become a prominent cell element after delayed quantitative RFC maxima had been reached and to reach complete predominance towards the end of the period of time under observation. A relative increase in the proportion of macrophages was seen immediately after irradiation.