POKEWEED MITOGEN INDUCED BLASTOID TRANSFORMATION IN PURIFIED AND NON-PURIFIED LEUKOCYTE CULTURES

Elimination of macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes from lymphocyte cultures prior to stimulation with the nonspecific mitogen PWM causes an initial depression of cell proliferation. At a later time period, however, purified cultures contain more transformed cells and show greater DNA synthesis than non-purified cultures. When a specific mitogen (PPD) is used, cell proliferation is consistently depressed in purified cultures. The results indicate that nonspecific mitogens may have a basically different mechanism of lymphocyte stimulation than do specific antigens. © 1969 S. Karger AG, Basel.