Changes in the number of antibody-forming and stem cells in the spleen of unilaterally nephrectomized mice

Abstract

A suspension of spleen cells from intact and unilaterally nephrectomized mice, obtained in the latter case 19–21 h after the operation, was injected into lethally irradiated (CBA×C57BL/6) F₁ mice 24 h after irradiation. On the 8th day after injection of the cells the number of colony-forming and plaque-forming cells in the spleen of the irradiated recipients was determined. To determine the number of plaque-forming cells, a mixture of spleen cells and sheep's red cells was injected into the irradiated recipients. The number of colonies in the recipients' spleen 19–21 h after the operation either was unchanged or was significantly reduced. Stimulation of the production of antibody-forming cells was observed at these same times, and it coincided in time with the period of manifestation of the ability of the splenic lymphoid cells of the unilaterally nephrectomized mice to induce proliferation in the kidney of the intact recipients.