Domination by epidermal cell-reactive autoantibodies in attempts to raise antibodies to Epa-1 alloantigens.
Despite extensive efforts to produce polyclonal sera and monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to Epa-1, a non-H-2 alloantigen expressed by murine epidermal cells (EC) but not lymphoid cells (LC), we were unsuccessful. In total, we screened nearly 3000 hybridoma culture supernatants--a sampling of B cells from 37 mice in 27 fusions--without finding significant evidence of Epa-1-reactive antibodies, an effort greater than that made to produce antibodies to other histocompatibility (H) antigens. Although mice immunized with Epa-1+ contained high levels of EC-reactive antibodies that showed little crossreactivity with LC targets, these were autoantibodies rather than alloantibodies because they reacted as strongly with syngeneic as with allogeneic EC targets. In the course of these studies, we found that even sera of normal mice contain EC-reactive autoantibodies, and that these could be further boosted by immunization with allogeneic EC. These data indicate that the humoral response to allogeneic EC is dominated by the response to a group of tissue-restricted autoantigens expressed on EC. These findings are discussed in the light of the general inability to produce antibodies to minor H antigens.
Hadley
G A
GA
Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.
Steinmuller
D
D
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology*; D004817:Epidermis / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas / Q000276:immunology; D007518:Isoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D007519:Isoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains / Q000276:immunology; D016038:Skin Transplantation
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001323:Autoantibodies; D007518:Isoantibodies; D007519:Isoantigens