Secondary IgG responses to type 3 pneumococcal polysaccharide. III. T cell requirement for development of B memory cells.

Mice primed with a thymus-dependent form of Type 3 pneumococcal polysaccharide (S3), i.e. S3 coupled to erythrocytes (S3-RBC) produces S3-specific IgG antibody after secondary challenge with S3-RBC. When mice are depleted of T cells by treatment with anti-lymphocyte serum (ALS) at the time of priming, no IgG antibody is produced after secondary challenge. In order to determine the cellular basis for this phenomenon, various combinations of T and/or B cells from ALS-treated or normal primed mice were transferred to irradiated recipients prior to secondary challenge with S3-RBC. The results indicated that T cells were required at the time of priming with S3-RBC in order to (a) prevent the induction of tolerance in S3-specific B cells in mice primed with high doses of S3-RBC, and (b) induced differentiation of IgG-producing B cell precursors to Bgamma memory cells in mice primed with low doses of antigen.