Surface immunoglobulins on the lymphocytes of the skate Raja naevus

✍ Scribed by A. E. Ellis; R. M. E. Parkhouse

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 346 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.1830051014

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Living lymphocytes of the Elasmobranch fish, Raja naevus, have been examined for surface immunoglobulin (Ig) by treatment with a fluorescent anti‐Ig system. Large numbers of Ig‐positive cells (60–80%) were found in peripheral blood, spleen and thymus. Following modulation of the surface Ig with anti‐Ig, resynthesis occurred, showing that the surface Ig is a product of the individual lymphocytes rather than material passively absorbed from the serum. Formation of caps was independent of temperature, occurring as readily at 4°C as at 20°C, a finding which presumably reflects the environmental conditions normally experienced by the skate. The presence of Ig‐bearing lymphocytes in the adult skate thymus suggests a similarity to the amphibian larval thymus, which may be a primary lymphoid organ for the production of both T and B lymphocyte analogues.