Antigen-specific synergism in the immune response of irradiated mice given marrow cells and peritoneal cavity cells or extracts.

A synergistic immune response to foreign erythrocytes may be induced in heavily irradiated mice injected with a mixture of isologous cells obtained from marrow and from the peritoneal cavity. Under appropriate conditions, homologous or heterologous peritoneal cavity cells, heat-killed cells, or cellfree extracts made from such cells are also effective. The activity of the peritoneal cavity cells or extracts is antigen-specific, in the sense that cells or extracts obtained from animals previously immunized with the test antigen produce much stronger synergistic effects than do cells from animals immunized with some other antigen; however, the peritoneal cavity cells or extracts are not immunogenic when tested in primed animals. The marrow cells, demonstrated to contain precursors of the antibody-forming cells produced during this synergistic immune response, also show a form of antigen-specificity.