Antibody formation: initiation in "nonresponder" mice by macrophage synthetic polypeptide RNA.

The RNA extracted from normal peritoneal macrophages exposed to a linear, random synthetic polypeptide, Glu(60)Ala(30)Tyr(10), initiated an immune response in C57B1/6J mice, although this strain responds very poorly to the antigen itself. From 10 to 150 micrograms of RNA obtained from mouse, rat, or rabbit macrophages was injected intraperitoneally into recipient mice, and specific antibody was detectable by passive hemagglutination 3 to 4 weeks later. Treatment of the RNA with ribonuclease destroyed its ability to initiate a specific immune response.

Antibody formation initiated in vitro. II. Antibody synthesis in x-irradiated recipients of diffusion chambers containing nucleic acid derived from macrophages incubated with antigen.

The diffusion chamber technique permitted the demonstration of specific antibody formation in x-irradiated recipients of such chambers filled with normal lymph node cells and a cell-free homogenate of macrophages which had been incubated in intro with T2 bacteriophage. The activity of the cell-free homogenate was retained in its RNA fraction isolated by means of the phenol method. No antibody formation occurred if such RNA was treated with RNAase.