Antigen presentation by peritoneal macrophages from young adult and old mice

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982 · Cell. Immunol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8749(82)90128-9· OSTI ID:5477309

Perkins, E H; Massucci, J M; Glover, P L

Macrophages perform vital inductive and regulatory functions in immune processes and host defense mechanisms. However, macrophage function during senescence has not been extensively studied. Although antibody response is dramatically reduced in old animals, antigen presentation has never been directly assessed. Therefore, the antigen-presenting capabilities of purified peritoneal macrophages from young adult and old mice were studied by quantitatively measuring their ability to induce antigen specific proliferation of lymph node T lymphocytes. Increasing numbers (10/sup 2/ to 10/sup 5/) of macrophages from nonimmunized young adult (3 to 6 months) or aged (27 to 36 months) animals were cultured in the presence of antigen with a constant number (2 x 10/sup 5/) of column-separated popliteal lymph node cells from young adult mice. The latter had been immunized with the dinitrophenyl conjugate of bovine ..gamma..-globulin in complete Freund's adjuvant by footpad injection. Macrophages from old animals were equal to macrophages from young adult in stimulating T-lymphocyte proliferation, and the kinetics of incorporation was identical with increasing numbers of macrophages from either young adult or old animals. However, greater numbers of resident or induced peritoneal macrophages were always harvested from old animals. Differences in macrophage activity as assessed by different functional parameters may be reconciled by implicating subpopulations of macrophages that perform separate functions, e.g. Ia-positive antigen presenter and Ia-negative scavenger macrophages.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 5477309
• Journal Information: Cell. Immunol.; (United States), Journal Name: Cell. Immunol.; (United States) Vol. 70; ISSN CLIMB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550200 -- Biochemistry
551000* -- Physiological Systems
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AGE DEPENDENCE
ANIMAL CELLS
ANIMALS
ANTIGENS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD CELLS
BODY FLUIDS
CELL CULTURES
CONNECTIVE TISSUE CELLS
FREUNDS ADJUVANT
IMMUNE REACTIONS
INJECTION
INTAKE
LEUKOCYTES
LYMPH NODES
LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
LYMPHOCYTES
MACROPHAGES
MAMMALS
MATERIALS
MEMBRANES
MICE
PERITONEUM
PHAGOCYTES
RODENTS
SEROUS MEMBRANES
SOMATIC CELLS
STIMULATION
VERTEBRATES