title: Idiotypic cross-reactivity of anti-GAT and anti-alprenolol antibodies: an approach to the structural correlates of the pGAT idiotypic specificity.
abstract: Most anti-GAT antibodies in the BALB/c strain express a public idiotypic specificity (pGAT), which is encoded by specific germline genes (VH10, VK5.1 and VK1A5). One or both of these germline genes, referred to as "GAT-specific genes", are also used by four anti-alprenolol antibodies. Anti-Alp and anti-GAT antibodies show no cross-reactivity for the antigens. The light chain of one anti-Alp antibody, 22C4, is encoded as the anti-GAT antibodies by a VK5.1-J2 combination and expresses part of the pGAT idiotopes, whereas the heavy chain is not "GAT"-related. Two anti-Alp using the VH10-VK5.1-J1 association do not express any of the pGAT idiotopes. Sequence comparison of the various CDR sequences points to the predominant role of the VH-CDR2 and VL-CDR3 for the constitution of the pGAT specificity. Regarding VL-CDR3, a drastic change in idiotypic determinants appears to be linked to V-J junctional diversity.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Immunologie INSERM-CNRS de Marseille-Luminy, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazza
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nahmias
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Strosberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fougereau
mesh_terms: D000526:Alprenolol / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000235:genetics; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D003429:Cross Reactions; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes; C022204:anti-GAT antibodies, idiotypic; D000526:Alprenolol