Transfer Factor: Past, Present and Future

Adoptive transfer of cell-mediated immunity to specific antigens in humans was first demonstrated by Lawrence (1) in 1949, thus opening a new avenue of research that has led both to increased understanding of basic immune mechanisms and to the development of immunomodulation therapy. Law­ rence originally showed that transfer of whole viable lymphocytes from a normal tuberculin skin test-positive donor to a normal skin test-negative recipient resulted in a conversion of the recipient to skin-test positivity, but this observation created little interest in the immunologic community for several reasons. In 1955, the lymphocyte was mentioned for the first time as a possible immunologic organ. Traditionally, the lymphocyte had been studied in hematologic rather than in immunologic terms . In the third edition of his classic textbook on the anatomy of the lymphoid system, Professor A. Joffy of the University of Bristol proposed three questions to lymphocytes: Where do you come from, where do you go and what do you do, if anything? In 1962(2) , 1. Miller showed that the immune system in chickens could be divided into two components , namely the B lymphocyte derived from the bursal system (B cell) producing antibodies that protect against infection from microorganisms (pneumococcus , meningococcus, streptococcus, gonococ­ cus, etc) and thymic-dependent (T cell) systems that protect against fungi, parasites , viruses, mycobacteria, and cancer metastases . Previously, Law­ rence (3) demonstrated that delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity (DH) respon­ siveness could also be transferred by soluble extracts of leukocytes