title: Synergistic effects of the xid gene in X chromosome congenic mice. I. Inability of C3.CBA/N mice to respond to thymus-dependent antigens in adoptive transfer assays.
abstract: The xid gene, which causes a B lymphocyte immune defect in CBA/N mice, has been bred onto the C3H/HeN background. The resulting X chromosome congenic mice (C3.CBA/N) exhibit immunologic defects that are much more profound than the defect exhibited by CBA/N mice; thus, the B cells from C3.CBA/N mice not only fail to respond to thymus-independent (TI) type 2 antigens such as TNP-Ficoll, but they fail to respond in vitro to TI-type 1 antigens such as TNP-Brucella abortus (BA) and B cell mitogens such as LPS and Nocardia water-soluble mitogen. In this paper we show that the synergistic defect seen in C3.CBA/N B cells is also elicited in adoptive transfer assays to thymus-dependent (TD) antigens such as TNP-KLH and PC-KLH, antigens to which both parental strains respond. Thus, the secondary adoptive transfer response of C3.CBA/N spleen cells is generally less than 5% of the immune response produced by CBA/N or C3H/HeN spleen cells. This synergistic defect is restricted to the C3.CBA/N B cells, since C3.CBA/N T cells can provide help to CBA/N B cells that is equivalent to the help obtained with CBA/N T cells. The low responsiveness of C3.CBA/N spleen cells to TD antigens, which is elicited in adoptive transfer assays, is not seen when the intact animal is immunized with antigen in CFA; this, intact C3.CBA/N mice produce anti-PC-KLH and anti-TNP-KLH responses only slightly lower than the responses of CBA/N mice to these same antigens. In contrast, when these mice are immunized with phenol-extracted LPS, a TI-type 1 antigen, their antibody responses are severely depressed. These data suggest that under conditions in which T cell help may be limiting or in which the intact physiology of the T and B cells has been disrupted, C3.CBA/N B cells demonstrate profound immunologic impairment; however, when adequate T cell help is available and the splenic architecture is not disrupted, their immune responses appear to progress in a normal fashion.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D006433:Hemocyanins / Q000276:immunology; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008211:Lymphocyte Cooperation; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D014960:X Chromosome
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent; D006433:Hemocyanins