Differences in the maturation of the immune response of A- and A+ rabbits. Good and poor responders respectively for the A antigen.
The amount, avidity and specificity of anti-A antibodies produced by rabbits having the A substance in their secretions (A+) and rabbits lacking this antigen (A-), were studied with a series of antigens chemically related to the A substance. Both A- and A+ rabbits produced specific anti-A antibodies but the amount, maturation of avidity and specificity of these antibodies was completely different. These results suggest that the difference between the immune response of A+ and A- animals is not based on a genetically determined inability of A+ rabbits to recognize the self antigen, but rather on differences in the regulatory mechanism(s) controlling the maturation process of the anti-A response.
D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000939:Epitopes; D007518:Isoantibodies; D007519:Isoantigens; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D011817:Rabbits / Q000276:immunology*
D000939:Epitopes; D007518:Isoantibodies; D007519:Isoantigens