Effects of mitogenic stimulation of lymphocytes on lysosomal enzyme activity

Changes in the activities of several lysosomal enzymes were studied during transformation of mouse spleen cells in vitro. The activity of beta-glucuronidase increased during culture in the presence of T or B-cell mitogens, and lymphoblasts contained higher levels of activity than did small, non-transformed lymphocytes. Moreover, lymphoblasts in well-transformed cultures had higher activities than those in poorly-transformed cultures. The activities of other lysosomal enzymes (N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, alpha-mannosidase, beta-glucosidase) also increased during mitogenic stimulation, but each at different rates, although aryl sulphatase was unaffected. Such differences may be of importance when lymphocytes are used for diagnosis of inherited lysosomal deficiency diseases.