A chemokinetic factor in the carp Cyprinus carpio.

The results describe experiments which demonstrate that the teleost Cyprinus carpio is capable of elaborating a substance which has analogous in vitro effects to that of mammalian chemokinetic lymphokines. In vitro stimulation of leucocytes from carp pronephros, both with antigens and mitogens, was used to provide culture supernatants which were applied to an in vitro chemokinetic assay. The chemokinetic factor-like activity could be detected in supernatants after one day of culture and at a dilution of 25%. The presence of lymphokines in fish supports the theory that lymphokine production is a fundamental property of vertebrate leucocytes and is of central importance in vivo cell-mediated immunity.