Stimulation of regulatory T cell circuits by immunoglobulin-dependent structures on activated B cells.

An immunoregulatory circuit is described in which B cell blasts activate syngeneic Ly-1+2-3- T cells to (a) start a reaction which is indistinguishable from a graft-vs.-host reaction (syngeneic GvH) and (b) induce suppressor cell activity which abrogates the syngeneic GvH. Since capping the surface immunoglobulin (Ig) on B cell blasts blocks their ability to activate the circuit, it is likely that the relevant cell surface structure "seen" on the B cell by the Ly-1 T cell is either Ig itself or another molecule in association with Ig.