THE LYMPHOCYTE AND IMMUNITY

Although the leukocytes have long been regarded as important in defense against disease, only some twenty-five years have passed since the suggestion¹ was made that the lymphocytes, specifically, produce the antibodies. The arrangement and drainage of the vast system of lymphatic vessels would suggest that antigenic material might be carried to lymph nodes and other lymphoid tissue where its presence might stimulate formation of antibodies. The observation² that agglutinins appear in the lymph nodes before they are found in the serum supports such a view. Furthermore, the relatively high agglutinin and hemolysin titer of the washed cells of the lymph nodes of immunized mice indicate that antibodies are concentrated in the lymphocytes.³ The incubation of lymphocytes with one kind of antibody in plasma which contains another kind of antibody, indicates that the antibodies are formed by the lymphocytes and not absorbed by them from surrounding plasma.⁴

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