Antigen-induced proliferation of murine T-lymphocytes in vitro. II. The effect of different macrophage populations on the antigen-induced proliferative response.

Various macrophage-containing preparations were tested for their ability to increase the antigen-specific proliferative response of murine T-lymphocytes. The preparations examined included: peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) from mice injected with mineral oil or thioglycolate; fresh bone-marrow cells; bone marrow cells grown in culture for up to 11 days; normal spleen cells, and spleen cells from mice injected with mineral oil. The best proliferative response was obtained when the lymphocytes were supplemented with 30% spleen cells from mice injected with mineral oil. When spleen cells from mineral oil injected mice are compared with those of spleen cells from normal mice, it is evident that mineral oil given i.p. activates the spleen macrophages. Although the number and percentage of macrophages in the spleen does not increase following mineral oil injection, the activities of some of their enzymes (acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase) increase while others do not change (Cathepsin D and lysozyme). Furthermore, the Fc-dependent phagocytic activity of spleen macrophages and their spreading on plastic culture dishes is increased after mineral oil treatment. We conclude that the activation of spleen macrophages caused by an i.p. injection of mineral oil also induces the changes in their antigen-presenting apparatus. Consequently, macrophages from spleens of mineral oil-injected mice are most suitable cell preparations for antigen presentation to T-lymphocytes.