Role of A cells in the mitogenic stimulation of lymphocytes by Mycoplasma

: The dependence of the blast transformation of lymphocytes in response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) and Mycoplasma arthritidis on the concentration of A-cells and the time of the introduction of M. arthritidis into the culture was studied. The level of blast transformation in response to PHA, Con A and M. arthritidis increased with the decrease of the concentration of A-cells in the culture. After the combined inoculation of the culture with M. arthritidis and PHA the resulting effect was higher than that induced by PHA alone and lower than the level of blast transformation in response to M. arthritidis at all A-cell concentrations under study. After the combined inoculation of M. arthritidis and Con A the summation of response was observed in cultures with a high concentration of A-cells, while in cultures with a low concentration of A-cells the resulting response was lower than that induced by any of these mitogens alone. The inoculation of the culture with M. arthritidis 24-48 hours after the cultivation of splenocytes with PHA and Con A was started led to the suppression of response to the mitogens. The suppression of response to PHA was most pronounced at the maximum concentration of A-cells, while the suppression of response to Con A reached its highest level when the concentration of A-cells was low. These data are in accord with the suggestion that M. arthritidis and PHA, as well as M. arthritidis and Con A, stimulated the overlapping subpopulations of lymphocytes in rats, the adhesive properties being most pronounced in the subpopulation of PHA- and M. arthritidis-positive lymphocytes.