The screening of several inbred strains of mice suggested that the capacity of their spleen cells to respond to the mitogenic effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria was correlated with their resistance to intraperitoneal infection with Salmonella typhimurium. An injection of LPS into mice caused changes in the in vitro responsiveness of their spleen cells to the mitogenic effects of LPS and phytohemagglutinin. Pretreatment of mice with whole ultraviolet (UV)-killed bacteria led to a marked rise in the in vitro response of the spleen cells to UV-killed bacteria, but not to LPS or phytohemagglutinin. This enhanced response to UV-killed bacteria was not specific for the 0 antigens of the bacteria.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.