Rapid Preparation of Functional Murine Peyer's Patch Cells

The preparation of cells of Peyer's patches (PP) from mice and some immunological activities of the cells were examined. The PP cells were obtained with high yield (> 1 •~ 107/CDF1 mouse) and viability (>97%), when the PP were cut and teased gently with two glasses in RPMI 1640 medium containing 5% heat-inactivated calf serum. The PP cells responded well to mitogens, and particularly the responses to a T cell mitogen, concanavalin A (Con A), were at similar levels to those of spleen cells. When the cells were stimulated with alloantigens in mixed lymphocyte reaction, significant response was observed. The PP cells cultured with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exhibited polyclonal B cell responses (antigen-nonspecific increase in the number of antibody-producing cells) . Furthermore, the levels of anti sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) plaque-forming cells (PFC) in PP cell cultures increased significantly when the PP cells were cultured with SRBC in vitro. However, the PP cells did not show the natural killer (NK) activity. These results showed that the PP cells obtained by the physical method described here contained functionable T and B lymphocytes and accessory cells.