Isoelectric focus analysis of rat anti-phosphocholine antibodies.
Anti-phosphocholine (PC) antibodies in sera from four strains of rats were examined before and afterimmunization with either Streptococcus pneumoniae R36A, which contains PC as a cell wall component, or with PC-coupled keyhole limpet hemocyanin (PC-KLH). PC-specific protein was purified from pooled immune sera and shown by a combination of isoelectric focus (IEF) in acrylamide and crossed immunoelectrophoresis, as well as by molecular weight determination in NaDodSO4-acrylamide, to be immunoglobulin. An additional, small molecular weight, nonimmunoglobulin protein (pI = 7.1-7.3) was present in sera from normal and germ-free rats which had the ability to bind the C-carbohydrate of S. pneumoniae R36A, but without specificity for PC. The IEF profile of normal and immune sera showed marked sharing of bands of anti-PC antibody between individual rats as well as between strains. In addition, other anti-PC antibodies which focused between pH 8.5 and 9.5 were less regularly shared. The uniformity of IEF profile of the bulk of anti-PC antibodies in rats is most consistent with their being the products of germ line genes.
D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002794:Choline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005260:Female; D007114:Immunization; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology
D000906:Antibodies; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; D002794:Choline