Influence of adrenaline on the dissemination of antibody-producing cells from the spleen.

Plaque-forming cells (PFC) and rosette-forming cells (RFC) were quantificated in splenic venous and splenic arterial blood and in spleen suspensions of guinea-pigs during a secondary immune response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC). The splenic veno-arterial differences in content of PFC and RFC were determined, indicating whether there had been a release of such cells from the spleen into the blood. The effect of an intracardial injection of adrenaline on the release of immune lymphocytes was investigated. In immunized control animals a splenic release of antigen-binding and antibody-forming cells was found, the release being restricted to the peak of the immune response in the spleen. However, after exogenous adrenaline a considerably increased release of both antigen-binding and antibody-forming cells occurred during a longer period of the immune response. Thus, adrenaline caused an enormous release of PFC from the spleen into the blood on day 4 of the secondary immune response, resulting in a diminished number of PFC remaining in the spleen after the treatment. A physiological significance of an adrenaline-induced dissemination of immune lymphocytes in the body during an immune response to a severe infectious disease is suggested.