We have previously demonstrated that activation of murine B cells by dextran-conjugated anti-IgD antibodies may serve as a polyclonal, in vitro model system for studying immune responses to T cell-independent type 2 (TI-2) Ag, as exemplified by the bacterial polysaccharides. Because in vivo Ig responses to TI-2 Ag are mediated primarily by B cells resident in the splenic marginal zone, we wished to determine whether this reflected an intrinsic difference in the responsiveness of marginal zone B cells (MZB) compared with follicular B cells (FB) to this class of Ag. In this report we demonstrate that highly purified MZB, isolated by electronic cell sorting, exhibit a lower proliferative response in vitro in response to unconjugated anti-Ig antibody as well as to dextran- or Sepharose-conjugated anti-IgM or anti-IgD antibodies, whereas they proliferate equal to or better than FB when stimulated by other B cell mitogens including LPS, Salmonella typhimurium mitogen, or anti-CD3-activated CD4+ Th2 cell clone. Despite the different proliferative responses of MZB and FB induced by anti-Ig, Ag receptor cross-linkage stimulates comparable increases in intracellular free calcium concentrations in both of these B cell populations. Furthermore, MZB secrete Ig and undergo Ig isotype switching to a comparable degree, relative to FB, in response to both T cell-dependent and T cell-independent stimuli. This suggests that the compartmentalization of TI-2 responses to the splenic marginal zone rather than the follicular zone reflects something other than the intrinsic responsiveness of the B cells from these two sites.