Bacterial lipopolysaccharides bind selectively to lymphocytes from lipopolysaccharide high-responder mouse strains

Three different concentrations of horseradish peroxidase-labelled lipopolysaccharide (LPS-HRP) were added in vitro to spleen cells from the LPS high-responder strain C3H/Tif and to cells from the low-responder strain C3H/HeJ. After being washed and fixed the cells were exposed to the substrate and prepared for electron microscopy. After addition of 7 and 0.7 microgram/ml of labelled LPS only lymphocytes from the high-responder strain were labelled. About 5-10% of the cells from C3H/Tif bound LPS, which is in accordance with the known frequency of B cells possessing the genetically determined LPS receptor. At the highest dose of labelled LPS (70 microgram/ml) a large proportion of lymphocytes from the low-responder strain also bound LPS. Erythrocytes from both strains bound LPS at all concentrations. It is concluded that LPS-HRP allows the detection at the cellular level of LPS binding to the genetically controlled membrane receptor for LPS.