Bacterial Adherence: A Method for Detecting Antibody Production by Single Cells

[摘要] A technique believed to be a further method for the detection of antibody production by single cells is described.Rats were immunized with a variety of bacteria, and lymph node cells removed during the secondary response were studied for their capacity to induce motile bacteria to adhere to their surface. About 100,000 lymph node cells from immunized and nonimmunized animals have been studied, in drops containing either one cell or many thousands. It was found that adherence occurred only when the test bacteria shared an antigen with the immunogen. Ninety-eight per cent of the identifiable positive cells belonged to the plasma cell series. It was not possible to render plasma cells positive for adherence by incubating them in a high-titered immune serum either in vivo or in vitro .Evidence is presented that the phenomenon depends on an antigen-antibody reaction between the bacteria and cell-associated antibody; that it is possible to differentiate two major types of adherence, viz. , H-adherence and O-adherence; and that the positive cells actually are antibody-producers.It is believed that this quick simple test may help in the screening of large cell populations for antibody-producing cells.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）