DIFFERENT CELLULAR SOURCES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF IMMUNE INTERFERON AND MACROPHAGE MIGRATION INHIBITORY FACTOR

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the different cellular sources for the production of immune interferon and the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). MIF and immune interferon appear simultaneously in the serum of mice immunized before with BCG. Several studies have dealt with the question of which cell type actually produces interferon in a lymphocyte culture. In an experiment described in the chapter, it was found that when bone marrow macrophages were added to nylon wool purified T-lymphocytes, the interferon response was completely restored. The capacity of macrophages to restore interferon production in lymphocytes of fraction II varied in different macrophage populations. Macrophages grown from bone marrow cultures and normal spleen restored the interferon production whereas no interferon could be detected in cultures that were reconstituted with peritoneal exudate cells induced with proteose peptone, and marked titers were only occasionally observed after reconstitution with thioglycolate elicited macrophages.