Immune responses in aged mice.

Abstract

In the C57BL strain of mice an immune response to sheep red cells was markedly reduced, whereas the response to a bacterial α-amylase was not changed with ageing. This reduction in an immune response was found to result from a decrease in the number of antibody-forming cells, not from a decrease in the amount of antibody synthesized by individual antibody-forming cells. Reduction in the number of antibody-forming cells in aged mice was thought to result from reduction in the number of antigen-sensitive cells.