MODULATION OF LYMPHOCYTE MITOGENESIS

Publisher Summary The binding of antigens, antibodies, and lectins to lymphoid cells induces a variety of surface and metabolic changes including the stimulation of DNA synthesis and mitosis. Although the detailed mechanism of lymphocyte activation is not known, it is assumed that the surface-bound mitogens are responsible for the initiation of cell stimulation. Mitogens show characteristic unimodal dose–response curves for a given population of lymphocytes, that is, concentrations significantly below or above the optimum show no stimulation. This chapter describes several approaches for the analysis of the stimulatory and inhibitory effects responsible for the characteristic mitogenic dose–response curve. Both stimulatory and inhibitory signals operate to give rise to the dose–response curve and these effects can be independently modulated.