Frequency analysis of the antibody specificity repertoire of mitogen-reactive B cells and "spontaneously" occurring "background" plaque-forming cells in nude mice.
The antibody specificity repertoire of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-reactive B cells has been determined in the spleens and bone marrow (BM) of C57BL/Ka athymic nude mice using a limiting dilution culture system that allows the growth and development of every LPS-reactive B cell into a clone of IgM-secreting cells. In addition, the numbers of "spontaneously" occurring ("background") IgM-, IgG-, and IgA-secreting cells as well as the "background" IgM antibody specificity repertoire has been assessed in spleens and BM. The frequencies of antigen-specific LPS-reactive B cells of C57BL/Ka nude and thymus-bearing mice showed a great similarity and ranged from 1 in 1000 to 1 in 2500 for sheep red blood cells (SRBC), horse red blood cells (HRBC), and goat red blood cells (GRBC), from 1 in 10 to 1 in 25 for 5-iodo-3-nitrophenyl-coupled (SRBC), from 1 in 15 to 1 in 150 for 4-hydroxy-3,5-dinitrophenyl-coupled SRBC, and from 1 in 70 to 1 in 140 for 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl-coupled SRBC. The specificity repertoire of the "background" IgM-secreting cells differed from that of age-matched thymus-bearing controls and was different in young and old C57BL/Ka nude mice. Within the limitations of having assessed only a minor fraction of the total B-cell antibody specificity repertoire and supposing that nude mice are largely devoid of functional T cells, the data presented suggest that the generation of the specificity repertoire of newly-formed B cells is hardly or not affected by T cells. On the other hand, T cells do affect the expression of the established repertoire, represented by "background" immunoglobulin-secreting cells.
Hooijkaas
H
H
van der Linde-Preesman
A A
AA
Benne
S
S
Benner
R
R
D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000379:methods; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008819:Mice, Nude / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology
D000939:Epitopes; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides