A radioactive antiserum in agar technique for the demonstration of immunoglobulin secretion by lymphoid cells.

A technique is described for the detection of immunoglobulins secreted by individual lymphoid cells. Cells were cultured in agarose gel containing dilute radiolabelled anti-immunoglobulin antibodies. The secreted immunoglobulins produced a precipitin lattice which was made visible by washing the gel, followed by autoradiography. Immunoglobulin secreting cells were surrounded by clusters, or `galaxies' of silver grains. Galaxies did not appear in the presence of certain metabolic inhibitors, indicating that the secretion of immunoglobulin was an active process dependent upon cell metabolism.