The proliferative capacity of spleen cells from C57BL/6J female mice of various ages (3-28 months) to the polyclonal mitogens concanavalin A (Con A) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was examined. It was found that both the T and B cell population of the spleen demonstrate an age-related decrease in their capacity to respond in vitro. Peak responses to both mitogens occurs at about 1 year of age. This age-related reduction in response is expressed in the degree of incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA, the total number of cells generated in vitro, the number of labeled cells per culture and the number of blast cells per culture. The day of peak response in vitro does not change with age. Studies of the cell cycle of cells responding to Con A and to LPS from 12 and 28-month-old mice demonstrate that the generation time of individual proliferating cells does not alter with age. Nor does it differ for the B cells responding to LPS or the T cells responding to Con A. These studies also demonstrate that the proliferating cells from senescent mice are equally capable of repeated cell divisions as are the cells from the 1-year-old adult mouse. It is concluded that the defect in senescent mice which leads to a reduced in vitro response to the polyclonal mitogens LPS and Con A is a reduction in the number of responding cells and not an alteration in the capacity of those cells which do respond to divide.

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