Cells involved in the immune response. XVII. The elution of antigen by antigen-reactive cells from antigen-sensitized glass bead columns. The high affinity of these cells for the glass bead-adsorbed antigen.

It was recently reported that antigen-reactive cells (ARC) of specific antigenic specificity in the bone marrow of normal rabbits (1–3) and antibody-forming cells (AFC) in the spleens of immune mice (4) can be isolated by the passage of these cells through an antigen-sensitized glass bead column. The cells which traverse the column possess no reactivity with respect to the antigen coating the glass beads; however, the cells which are eluted from the glass beads by vigorous shaking for several minutes react only with the antigen coating the beads and not with any other antigen (1, 2, 4). This highly specific antigenic reactivity of the eluted as compared with the effluent cells can be demonstrated by both in vitro incubation of the cells with the antigen (2, 3) or by transfer of the cells to irradiated immunoincompetent (800 R) rabbits (1) or mice (4).