Mitogenic activity of cell-wall components in mouse spleen cells

Lymphoid cell responses to bacterial cell wall components: murine B-cell responses to a purified cell wall moiety of Actinomyces

A mitogenic component, designated fraction C (Fr C), has been purified from a mutanolysin enzyme digest of Actinomyces cell walls by CM Sephadex C-25 ion-exchange and G-100 gel filtration chromatography. Good mitogenic responses were obtained with Fr C over a broad dose range with peak mitogenesis seen with 500 micrograms/culture. Fraction C (mol. wt. = 35,000-40,000) consists of 75% carbohydrate and 23% protein, is non-dialysable, resistant to heat, lysozyme or protease treatment, and partially sensitive to base, and all mitogenic activity is destroyed by either periodate or acid treatment. Fraction C is a B-cell mitogen since it induced responses in nude (nu/nu) and nu/+ BALB/c spleen cell cultures and purified splenic B-cell cultures, but did not stimulate purified splenic T-cell cultures. Similar mitogenic fractions for B cells have been obtained from cell walls of A. naeslundii and from a human isolate of A. viscosus. Good polyclonal IgM synthesis and plaque-forming cell responses to hapten or erythrocytes were obtained in vitro with the purified cell wall fractions derived from all three Actinomyces strains studied. These results indicate that the Actinomyces cell wall possesses a carbohydrate-rich component which activates B cells and may represent a common determinant of this genus.

Muramyl dipeptides: prospect for cancer treatments and immunostimulation

The immunopharmacological activities of bacterial cell walls and muramyl peptides were collected in table form with a comprehensive literature. The past and present studies emphasizing the host-defense enhancing activities of muramyl peptides for antitumor immunotherapy were surveyed along three possible approaches: 1) the nonspecific enhancement of natural defense ability of host against tumor cells themselves; 2) the enhancement of nonspecific resistance of host to microbial infections which are frequently encountered and difficult to treat in the advanced stage of tumor patients; and 3) the stimulation of immunity against tumor-specific or tumor-associated immunogens. Finally, the prospects of successful antitumor immunotherapy with muramyl peptides and their derivatives was discussed.

Mitogenic activity of water-soluble adjuvant obtained from Bacterionema matruchotii

A butanol-extracted water-soluble adjuvant (Bu-WSA) obtained from Bacterionema matruchotii, a gram-positive oral bacterium, is a potent B-cell mitogen for murine lymphocytes in vitro. [(3)H]thymidine uptake of cultured spleen cells of BALB/c mice and nude athymic mice was greatly enhanced by the presence of Bu-WSA. Spleen cells which had been treated previously with rabbit anti-mouse thymocyte serum and guinea pig complement responded to Bu-WSA, whereas thymocytes and nylon wool column-filtered spleen cells were unresponsive to it. It was necessary for the adjuvant to be in the culture for at least 24 h in order to obtain significant lymphocyte activation. As macrophage-depleted spleen cells still responded to Bu-WSA, the proliferative response of lymphocytes seems to be independent of the presence of macrophages. The degree of response of spleen cells stimulated by a mixture of Bu-WSA and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was very close to the sum of the responses stimulated by Bu-WSA and LPS individually. Spleen cells of LPS-injected mice, which were refractory to LPS, responded to Bu-WSA. On the other hand, the spleen cells of Bu-WSA-injected mice responded to LPS but not to Bu-WSA. Furthermore, the cells obtained from the spleens of mice which had been heavily cobalt 60 irradiated and bone marrow reconstituted 3 weeks in advance responded to LPS but not to Bu-WSA. Therefore, it appears that the cells responding to Bu-WSA were not identical to those responding to LPS.