Surface markers of suppressor cells in the spontaneous immunodeficiency disease of senescent NZB/NZW F1 hybrid mice.

Aged NZB/NZW F1 hybrid (B/W) mice spontaneously develop severe immunodeficiency disease associated with worsening autoimmunity and malignancies of the immune system. The impaired immune response is mediated in part by markedly increased suppressor cell activity in the spleens of these animals. In male B/W mice, the suppressor cell is nonphagocytic, nonadherent to nylon wool columns and highly resistant to treatment with anti-Thy-1 + complement. We report here marked ablation of splenic suppressor activity by anti-Lyt-1.2 + complement and to a much smaller extent by anti-Ly-2.2. The suppressor activity is not affected by anti-IgM + complement. These data suggest that the suppressor cell activity in the spleens of aged male B/W mice are in the T cell line and may result from an underlying disorder of T cell maturation and differentiation.