Induction of Polyclonal Immunoglobulin Synthesis

This unit is designed to examine the effects of T cells or lymphokines on B cell differentiation in situations where the antigen specificity of the B cells is not of interest. In these cases, antibody production induced by polyclonal stimuli (e.g., mitogens, antibodies, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), or lymphokines) can be measured instead of antigen-specific immunoglobulin production. Because B cells in the circulation and tissues are pleomorphic (containing subpopulations of cells that may be resting, cells that may have had prior antigenic exposure, and cells that may have undergone prior isotype commitment), the antibody responses of these subpopulations to various growth and differentiation factors differ. Therefore, the choice of which lymphocyte subpopulation to culture and which activation signal to use is determined by the particular experimental question.