The in vitro response to phytomitogens of marsupial leukocytes

Leukocytes from two macropod marsupials, the quokka (Setonix brachyuras) and the tammar (Macropus eugenii) were separated from whole blood by dextran sedimentation and established in culture with either phytohemagglutinin-P, concanavalin A, or pokeweed mitogen. The leukocyte response to each mitogen, as measured by the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into DNA, was similar to that described in other experimental systems. These results suggest that the functional elements of the cellular immune response in marsupials may have evolved along very similar lines to those in the eutherian mammals.