Dissociation between interferon production induced by phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A in spleen cell cultures of nude mice

Spleen cells of homozygous nude mice did not react with lymphoproliferation to both phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A), and there was no detectable interferon production in response to Con A. However, PHA-induced interferon production was equal in spleen cells of nu/nu mice and nu/+ mice. One possible explanation for these findings is that a subset of T cells responds to PHA with interferon production different from that responding to Con A with interferon production.