Abstract It has been suggested that Ag-specific T cell factors play a role in the early phase of cellular immune responses. Two of these factors are studied in this paper. The first factor is specific macrophage arming factor (SMAF), that binds to (arms) macrophages and renders them specifically cytotoxic against tumor cells. The second factor is involved in the induction of an early (2 h) mast cell-dependent hypersensitivity reaction, that precedes the delayed-type hypersensitivity response (mast cell arming T cell factor; MTCF). In this study we compare both factors in an allogeneic murine tumor system (C57BL (H-2b) mice sensitized against SL2 (H-2d) lymphoma cells), both factors were: 1) dependent on T lymphocytes for their production, 2) detectable in serum 2 to 3 days after immunization, and 3) MHC (H-2)-Ag specific. Immunochemical studies showed that both factors have a molecular mass between 45 and 90 kDa and bind to the mAb 14-30 (directed against specific T cell factors), but not to anti-kappa/lambda L chain antibodies. Furthermore, it was shown that SMAF produced in vitro could induce a mast cell-dependent early 2-h hypersensitivity reaction against SL2 tumor cells, and resembled in this way MTCF. We concluded that the biologic activities and immunochemical characteristics of SMAF and MTCF are similar. Both factors are produced during the early stages of the immune response and seem to play a role in the initiation of the cell-mediated immune response.