Immune response of New Zealand mice to trinitrophenylated syngeneic mouse red cells.
NZB and NZB/W mice have reduced anti-sheep red cell (SRC) and 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl-plaque-froming cell (TNP-PFC) responses with age after injection of either the thymus-dependent antigen TNP-SRC or the thymus-independent antigen TNP-mouse red cells (MRC). However, the thymus-dependent response diminished much faster than the thymus-independent response. As a consequence, young New Zealand mice have a higher anti-TNP response after injection of TNP-SRC than after injection of TNP-MRC, while old New Zealand mice have a higher anti-TNP response after injection of TNP-MRC than after injection of TNP-SRC. The PFC avidity of NZB/W mice injected with TNP-SRC diminished with age, while the PFC avidity of mice injected with TNP-MRC did not change with agrc or TNP-SRC. Old NZB/W mice had few spontaneous anti-MRC-PFC. The number of anti-MRC PFC in old mice was increased 4 to 10 times after injection with either TNP-SRC or TNP-MRC. It is suggested that surveillance mechanisms are responsible for suppressing the autoimmune response to modified self-antigens. The unregulated immune system of NZB and NZB/W mice appears to be an expression of impairment of such a hypothetical surveillance mechanism.
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D001666:Binding Sites, Antibody; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D051379:Mice; D008814:Mice, Inbred NZB / Q000276:immunology*; D008819:Mice, Nude / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes / Q000276:immunology
D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes