Involvement of cells with 'B' properties in development of T helpers.

Cells bearing Ig on the membrane, fractionated from either 17 day embryonic livers or from normal adult bone marrow, when transferred to splenectomized-irradiated mice, lead to development of helper cells in the thymus of the recipients. The helper function was expressed when the recipients were stimulated with flagellin-MON and the thymus cells were cultured together with anti theta treated spleen cells and stimulated with DNP-MON. The response to DNP was not enhanced when the irradiated mice were inoculated with non Ig bearing cells. Helper activity was related to cells which were eliminated with anti theta antibodies and did not have detectable Ig. Hence, cells with 'B' properties may be involved in development of T helpers.