Chitin: An Immunological Adjuvant and a Polyclonal B-Lymphocyte Activator

摘要

Chitin, a linear β1–4-linked poly-N-acetylglucosamine, enhanced the in vivo immune response of normal mice to sheep red blood cells, but not that of mice with thymic aplasia (nude mice). The compound is mitogenic for murine B lymphocytes but not for thymocytes or splenic T lymphocytes. Similarly to well-known polyclonal B-lymphocyte activators; e.g. lipopolysaccharide, chitin induces differentiation of B lymphocytes into antibody-forming cells in vit