AN OVERVIEW OF THE PANEL DISCUSSION ON IMMUNOLOGY

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of a panel discussion on immunology. Notable discussions centered on the matter of B-cell differentiation, grafting of the thymus to reconstitute T-cell deficiency, the development of complement, selected deficiencies of complement in man and alternate pathways of the C system. A primary question about humoral immunity has centered about the origin of B cells in man. Dr. Robert Good discussed this problem and described such existence in relation to the Bursa Fabricius of chicken. Although extensive work has investigated possibilities to define gastrointestinal associated lymphoid tissue that might be exercising the same function as the bursa, no definitive evidence has been forthcoming. There are areas that seem to be good expanders of the B cells system but not necessarily differentiation sites. Dr. Good reported work by the Toivanens carried out in his laboratories in which chickens were made agammaglobulinemic by removing their bursa 4 days before hatchinu and were fully reconstituted with bursal cells so that they were forming all the immunoglobulins — the interesting point being that when the bursa began to involute, the whole stem population shifted to the marrow.