BACTERIAL SUPERANTIGENS INDUCE T-CELL UNRESPONSIVENESS IN B-CELL-DEFICIENT MICE

Bacterial superantigens such as staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) cau se in vivo a profound and long-lasting state of unresponsiveness in li gand-reactive T cells. To test whether presentation of SEE by small re sting B cells to ligand-reactive T cells is essential for the inductio n of T cell unresponsiveness, we analyzed the effect of SEE in B cell- deficient mice. We observed T cell deletion and T cell unresponsivenes s in both B cell-deficient mice and control mice. We conclude that pre sentation of SEE by resting B cells is not a prerequisite for the indu ction of T cell unresponsiveness in vivo.