The Role of Macrophage-RNA in the Immune Response

Abstract

Studies conducted in our laboratory and elsewhere on the initiation of antibody formation in cultures of tissues or cells from “normal” animals have yielded information which suggests a model for antibody formation that involves the sequential action of two types of cells (Fishman, 1959). According to this model the antigen is ingested and processed by macrophages which then transfer immunogenic material to lymph node cells where the antibody is produced. With the aid of tritium labeled bacteriophage and electron microscopy it has been possible to trace the uptake of antigen by macrophages, its concentration in lysosomal vacuoles, and finally the partial breakdown of the phage particles within 30 minutes of incubation at 37 C (Fishman, Adler, van Rood, and Binet, 1965). It is thought that in organized tissues the transfer of material from macrophages to lymph node cells would most likely take place within the structural “islands” in which macrophages...