Heterogeneity of B cells reacting with T-cell factors. Evidence for matching T-cell and B-cell subsets.

Spleen T cells have been stimulated with Concanavalin A (Con A) under conditions which lead to the production of non-specific factor (NSF), a substance which replaces T cells for B-cell responses to certain antigens. We have examined the ability of multiple aliquots of B cells to react to the NSF derived from single T cells, and have found great heterogeneity of response. We postulate that there exist subsets of T cells which vary in either the quantity or the quality of the non-specific factor(s) they can produce on stimulation, and that in turn there must also be matching subsets of B cells which may vary in their susceptibility to such factors.