Antigen-specific B cells efficiently present low doses of antigen for induction of T cell proliferation.

Previous experiments suggested a role for specific B cells in the induction of antigen (SRBC)-specific T cell proliferation. Two models were proposed: in the first, B cells directly presented antigen to T cells; alternatively, B cells secreted antibody, which opsonized antigen for presentation by macrophages. Experiments to distinguish between these possibilities are presented here. Three lines of evidence support the conclusion that antigen is presented directly by specific B cells. First, nonimmune splenic adherent cells (SAC), which efficiently induced proliferation of appropriately primed T cells to antigens such as OVA and GAT, were unable to induce SRBC-specific proliferation. Secondly, a slope analysis of the logarithmic plot of T cell proliferation vs the number of irradiated B cells suggested that two cells were limiting within the presenting population. The addition of IL 1 or SAC reduced the slope to 1 (although in serum-free conditions, the addition of IL 1, but not SAC, reduced the slope of the line). Specificity of the B cells for the antigen continued to be required in the presence of exogenous IL 1 or SAC. These results suggested that presentation by specific B cells and the amount of IL 1 were the limiting requirements for the induction of SRBC-specific T cell proliferation. The third line of evidence was the demonstration of a restricted interaction between T cells and B cells. The addition of irradiated, allogeneic SRBC-specific B cells to T cell lines and syngeneic SAC failed to support proliferative responses. We further show that a GAT-specific T cell clone was triggered to proliferate by either SAC or B cells, but that antigen-specific B cells were necessary at low doses of antigen. This finding is important in two respects. First, the T cell clone previously has been shown to act as a helper; secondly, when low doses of antigen are used, the requirement for priming of the B cells to the specific antigen is true for a soluble, as well as a particulate, antigen. We propose that at low (physiologic) doses of antigen, presentation to secondary T cells takes place mainly at the surface of antigen-specific B cells. At high doses of antigen,h presentation can also be accomplished by nonspecific cells such as other B cells, macrophages, or dendritic cells.