A Chemical Approach to the Mechanism of B‐Lymphocyte Activation

In an attempt to definitively determine whether the pure presentation of haptens (on repetitive, non-metabolizable carriers) to B lymphocytes triggers differentiation to antibody-producing cells, dinitrophenyl and trinitrophenyl groups have been covalently coupled to potentially inert carriers (polymethylmethacrylate, chlorinated polyethylene and cellulose). The resulting conjugates (with three different degrees of hapten substitution) are not immunogenic. It is therefore concluded that the pure presentation of haptens to B lymphocytes does not trigger antibody formation.