Thymus-Independent Type 2 Responses in Lymph Nodes

Splenectomy in adult rats produces a profound and prolonged impairment of their capacity to respond to the thymus-independent type 2 (TI-2) antigen, dinitrophenylated hydroxyethyl starch (DNP-HES) but has no effect on their response to the TD antigen, DNP-haemocyanin (1). However, this impairment is not complete suggesting that some other organs have some capacity to respond to TI-2 antigens. In this study we show the ability of peripheral lymph nodes to produce limited responses to these antigens.