3H-uridine incorporation by small lymphocytes of tolerant rats: relationship to T and B lymphocytes.

Tissue tolerance was induced in neonatal rats by the intravenous injection of bone marrow cells from adult allogeneic rat donors. After 6 to 8 weeks, lymphoid cells from rats in which tolerance had been induced were tested for mixed lymphocyte reactivity (MLR), 3H-uridine uptake, and the relationship of uridine incorporation to B and T lymphocytes. Lymph node (LN) and spleen (SPL) cells from the adult inoculated rats showed no reactivity in the MLR or normal lymphocyte transfer reaction (NLTRx), indicating that the animals were tolerant. After in vitro exposure to 3H-uridine, an abundance of small lymphocytes (SL) from these same tolerant rats were heavily labeled, in contrast to nontolerant controls, where relatively few SL were heavily labeled. In order to determine whether the heavily uridine-labeled cells were T cells or B cells, lymphoid cells from the LN and SPL of tolerant animals were exposed to either rabbit anti-AKR brain serum or rabbit anti-rat Ig conjugated with ferritin. The results showed that the heavily uridine-labeled SL of the tolerant rats were mainly Ig-positive cells.