title: Idiotypic regulation of development of the B-cell repertoire.
abstract: The mouse B-cell repertoire develops from a restricted set to an extremely diverse set of specificities. Establishment of some of the B-cell clones that constitute the adult repertoire is facilitated and guided by idiotype-directed interactions among complementary sets of B cells early during ontogeny. Through in vivo experiments described here and reported elsewhere, we have shown that the program of B-cell development involving idiotypic interactions is obligatory in the development of certain B cells that provide immunity against bacterial infections. Furthermore, this program of B-cell development is facilitated in newborn mice and not in adult mice that have been transplanted with progenitor cells from adult bone marrow. Thus the idiotype-directed selection of the adult B-cell repertoire appears to be limited to fetal-neonatal stages of development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham 35294.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kearney
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes / Q000276:immunology*; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D016513:Mice, SCID
chemical_list: D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes