OPTIMAL CONDITIONS FOR BLASTOGENIC RESPONSE OF PERIPHERAL-BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES TO T-CELL AND B-CELL MITOGENS IN CYNOMOLGUS MONKEYS

Optimal conditions for the mitogen-induced proliferation of T and B lymphocytes of cynomolgus monkeys were determined. The T cell mitogens concanavalin A and phytohemagglutinin, at concentrations of 1.25-10 mu g/ml and 1.25-25 mu g/ml, respectively, and the T and B cell mitogen pokeweed mitogen, at concentrations of 0.2-10 mu g/ml, induced high lymphoproliferative responses, the average stimulation index (SI) being 34-93. Since suitable mitogens have not been reported for monkey B cells, we tested three types of lipopolysaccharide (LPS): two derived from Escherichia coli-one extracted with phenol and one extracted with trichloroacetic acid (TCA); and one derived from Salmonella typhimurium, extracted with phenol. All three LPS had a high mitogenic effect for monkey lymphocytes, with SI of 2.3-6.4. The highest response was observed for 25 mu g/ml of Salmonella LPS, and the addition of trypsin to the culture augmented the proliferative response of low or non-responder lymphocytes. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.