Differential susceptibility of neonatal and adult murine spleen cells to in vitro induction of B-cell tolerance

The relative susceptibility of neonatal and adult murine splenocytes to induction of B-cell tolerance was studied in vitro. Adult cells required approximately 1,000-fold more trinitrophenyl-human gamma globulin to be rendered tolerant than did cells from 9- to 12-day-old neonates. The potential effects of suppressor T cells were excluded by pretreating the cultured B cells with anti-Thy-1 and C' and the helper T cells with anti-Ly-2.2 and C'. The possible role of cell surface immunoglobulin isotypes in contributing to this observed difference is discussed.