Activation of rat B lymphocytes by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans

We examined the lymphoproliferative responses of cervical lymphocytes and splenocytes of homozygous (rnu/rnu) congenitally athymic nude and normal heterozygous (rnu/+) Rowett rats to whole cells of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, a suspected periodontal disease pathogen. Previously sensitized cells from immunized only, infected only, or immunized and infected, normal rats demonstrated proliferation in response to formalinized A. actinomycetemcomitans, but cells from nude rats did not proliferate. The maximum antigenic response was observed at day 5 of culture. A. actinomycetemcomitans caused cervical lymphocytes and splenocytes from untreated naive normal and nude rats to undergo increased DNA synthesis at day 2 of culture. Highly enriched nonsensitized spleen T cells prepared on a nylon wool column did not respond to A. actinomycetemcomitans, whereas enriched nonsensitized B cells proliferated. Differences in response were probably not attributable to contributions from macrophages in the T- or B-cell populations, since macrophage percentages were approximately the same in both preparations. T-cell reconstitution of nude rats with neonatal thymus cells from rnu/+rats resulted in partial recovery of T-cell function but had no effect on the mitogenic response to A. actinomycetemcomitans. It is suggested that the antigenic responses to A. actinomycetemcomitans are dependent on T cells and that A. actinomycetemcomitans cells have mitogenic activity for B cells. The potential importance of these findings in periodontal disease is discussed.