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Rabbit thymus lymphocyte antigen (RTLA) has been previously characterized as an antigen of rabbit thymus-derived cells (Cell. Immunol. 7: 484–501, 1973). It has now been shown that the antigen may be regarded as a thymus marker in terms of cellular responsiveness to various mitogens. It was found that only RTLA-bearing spleen cells responded to phytohaemagglutinin and concanavalin A with increased thymidine uptake. Only those spleen cells, which remained viable after treatment with RTLA antibody and complement, responded by thymidine incorporation to antibody against A4 light chain marker. The sensitivity of the detection of mitogen effects was improved by removing cells, adhering to or ingesting magnetic core particles, coated with poly-L-lysine. Following such pretreatment, there was a reduction in thymidine uptake by unstimulated spleen cells. This reduction in background thymidine incorporation made it possible to determine target specificity with mitogens of low potency. Using this technique, it became possible to demonstrate that lipopolysaccharide is a mitogen for rabbit B cells, albeit marginally so, and much less effective for rabbit than for murine B cells.

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