AUGMENTED PASSIVE TRANSFER OF CONTACT SENSITIVITY IN SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY MICE AND ITS DEPENDENCE OF V-BETA-8+ CELLS IN THE PICRYL SYSTEM

The passive transfer of contact sensitivity using picryl chloride immu ne cells from H-2 syngenic BALB/c donors was analyzed in severe combin ed immunodeficiency (SCID) mice which lack functional T and B lymphocy tes. H-2-restricted and antigen-specific contact sensitivity was trans ferred to SCID mice, and comparison between the level of contact sensi tivity and the number of transferred cells showed a significantly more efficient transfer to SCID than to BALB/c mice. The cells passively t ransferring contact sensitivity were shown to carry the Vbeta8 phenoty pe. Moreover, chromium-labeled cells from BALB/c PCl-primed donors loc alize normally in peripheral lymphoid organs, and an increased percent age of cell arrival in the ears is clearly observed in SCID after chal lenge with picryl chloride.