Abstract
MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE (MP) is an important causative agent of lower respiratory tract illness in man1. Lymphocytes from subjects who have experienced MP infection show a high degree of stimulation when cultured in the presence of MP antigen2,3. But high concentrations of MP antigen also stimulate, to some extent, lymphocytes from individuals without serological evidence of previous MP infection, suggesting that these subjects have either been infected with MP in the past or that MP also has a non-antigen-specific, mitogenic effect2. Several mitogens are known : the plant lectins phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A, for example, have a mitogenic effect on T lymphocytes4, and certain bacterial products, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of E. coli4 and a purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD) are mitogenic for mouse B cells5 and induce polyclonal antibody synthesis in mouse spleen cells4. These substances are called polyclonal B-cell activators (PBA) (ref. 6). We now report that MP is mitogenic for mouse and guinea pig lymphocytes and induces polyclonal antibody formation in mouse spleen cells.
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BIBERFELD, G., GRONOWICZ, E. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a polyclonal B-cell activator. Nature 261, 238–239 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/261238a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/261238a0
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