Modulation of total IgE levels in serum of normal and athymic nude BALB/c mice by T cells and exogenous antigenic stimulation.
Several different grades of T-system impairment were studied for their effects on the total serum IgE concentration in BALB/c mice. Homozygous athymic nu/nu mice and their heterozygous nu/+ littermates were compared for serum IgE levels while kept under either barrier-maintained or conventional conditions. The results show a paradox between the T-cell dependency of the IgE immune response and the increased levels of serum IgE in the absence of T cells. Both barrier-maintained and conventionalized nu/nu mice have at least twofold increased serum IgE levels as compared to nu/+ mice. With age, IgE levels increased faster and reached higher plateau values in nu/nu than nu/+ mice. Moreover, after adult thymectomy of BALB/c mice the serum IgE levels increased up to 15-fold at 4 months of age, while infusion of immunocompetent T cells in nude mice resulted in a 2- to 5-fold decrease of the IgE level.
Savelkoul
H F
HF
Department of Cell Biology, Immunology and Genetics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
van den Akker
T W
TW
Soeting
P W
PW
van Oudenaren
A
A
Benner
R
R
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C / Q000276:immunology; D008819:Mice, Nude / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000637:transplantation; D013934:Thymectomy
D000941:Antigens; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007073:Immunoglobulin E