1987 Volume 28 Issue 3 Pages 283-290
Using our model of experimental autoimmune hepatitis that developed in C57BL/6 (B6) mice following immunization with syngeneic liver antigens, regulation of helper and cytotoxic killer T cells by suppressor T cells in the spleen and liver of hepatitis mice were investigated. It was found that helper T cells in the nylon wool column non-adherent fraction of cells from the spleen and liver were under clear control by suppressor T cells. The results of an in vitro cytotoxic assay suggested that two different types of cytotoxic killer T cells were operative against target liver cells. One of them had a characteristic to adhere to nylon wool and was under a weak control of suppressor T cells. Another kind of cytotoxic killer T cells did not adhere to nylon wool and was strongly controlled by suppressor T cells. These findings suggest that immunoregulatory mechanisms play an important role in the induction of hepatitis in our model.
