ABSTRACT
The immune response to various T independent and T dependent antigens often oscillates (cycles) in a complex pattern. S. Britton and G. Moller were the first to report the existence of oscillations during an antibody response: they observed that the number of direct anti-lipopolysaccharide (anti-LPS) plaque-forming cells (PFC) oscillates during the course of the response of CBA mice to a single injection of Escherichia coli 055:B5 LPS. The chapter reviews the dynamics of the PFC response to LPS and briefly compare it to the response of other T independent antigens. Daily assays for numbers of splenic anti-LPS PFC produced in BALB/c mice were conducted for a period of 1 month after immunization with a single dose of LPS. It assumes that the observed oscillations are the result of feedback control mechanisms involving cellular and molecular elements of the immune system.
