Immunologic properties of protein-lipopolysaccharide complexes. I. Antibody response of normal, thymectomized, and nude mice to a lysozyme-lipopolysaccharide complex.

The in vivo antibody response to the lysozyme component of a lysozyme-lipopolysaccharide complex has been investigated in normal, thymectomized and nude mice. The splenic PFC response elicited by the complex in CBA mice is 10- to 20-fold higher than the response elicited by lysozyme admixed with LPS. Both lysozyme-LPS complexes and lysozyme + LPS mixtures prime mice for a subsequent secondary anti-lysozyme response. In contrast, thymectomized mice responded poorly to lysozyme-LPS complexes unless reconstituted with splenic T cells. However, nude mice responded as well as Nu/+ controls to the complex. The PFC response of normal and of nude mice was severely depressed by treatment with anti-lymphocyte serum. These findings suggest that T lymphocytes contribute significantly to the enhanced immune responsiveness associated with LPS administration.