Alterations of idiotypic profiles: The cellular basis of T15 dominance in BALB/c mice

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Journal of Molecular and Cellular Immunology; (USA)

OSTI ID:5543321

Wemhoff, G A; Quintans, J ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Chicago, IL (USA)

Phosphorylcholine (PC) is a component of cell walls and membranes from a variety of widely distributed microorganisms. It is highly immunogenic in mice and most murine strains have circulating anti-PC antibodies which are known to confer protection against certain bacterial infections. BALB/c mice offer a striking example of a high responsiveness to PC, a propensity to generate PC-binding myelomas, and a great restriction of idiotype expression in anti-PC antibodies; in fact, most BALB/c anti-PC IgM antibodies express the T15 idiotype marker. Although it has been suspected that T15 dominance is somewhat related to the continuous antigenic load presented by microorganismal flora found in conventional mice, a complete experimental account of how antigenic selection brings about such extreme idiotypic dominance is not yet available. In the studies presented below, we investigated the role played by the host environment, T cells, and antigen in affecting the generation of the anti-PC T15 idiotype profile in lethally irradiated adoptive hosts reconstituted with syngeneic neonatal liver cells. The results presented herein indicate that the transfer of mature carrier-primed T cells with neonatal liver cells does not influence the generation of the T15 idiotype profile. We also demonstrated that anti-T15 idiotype suppressed mice, used as lethally irradiated hosts of immature immunocompetent cells, allow an increased rate of reconstitution of the anti-PC response when compared to nonsuppressed hosts. Since the administration of a T15+ anti-PC antibody inhibits both reconstitution and idiotype expansion, we conclude that T15+ B cells do not self-promote themselves. In contrast, we observed that exposure of adoptive hosts to PC antigens can enhance the anti-PC response and alter the idiotypic profile in favor of T15-bearing clones.

• OSTI ID: 5543321
• Journal Information: Journal of Molecular and Cellular Immunology; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Molecular and Cellular Immunology; (USA) Vol. 3:5; ISSN 0724-6803; ISSN JMCID
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560152* -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Animals
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMAL CELLS
ANIMALS
ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY REACTIONS
BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD CELLS
BODY FLUIDS
CELL CONSTITUENTS
CELL MEMBRANES
CHIMERAS
CONNECTIVE TISSUE CELLS
ESTERS
FUNCTIONS
GLOBULINS
IMMUNE REACTIONS
IMMUNOGLOBULINS
LEUKOCYTES
LIPIDS
LYMPHOCYTES
MAMMALS
MATERIALS
MEMBRANES
MICE
MOSAICISM
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHOLIPIDS
PROTEINS
RADIATION CHIMERAS
RODENTS
SOMATIC CELLS
VERTEBRATES