title: Characterization of the group I and group II antibody response against PC-KLH in normal and T15 idiotype-suppressed BALB/c mice.
abstract: The memory response of BALB/c mice to phosphocholine-keyhole limpet haemocyanin (PC-KLH) consists of two antibody populations, designated Group I and Group II, that differ in their fine specificity, as determined by hapten inhibition using phosphocholine (PC) and p-nitrophenylphosphocholine (NPPC). It is known that Group I response is dominated by T15 idiotype-positive antibodies that utilize the VH1 heavy-chain gene in combination with V kappa 22 light-chain gene. In this paper we show that Group II serum antibodies of BALB/c mice are also highly restricted in their heterogeneity, as determined by N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Group II response is not affected by neonatally induced T15 suppression, whereas the Group I response in these mice consists of T15-negative antibodies. This suggests that the expression of the two antibody populations is regulated independently. Finally, we show that the isotype distributions within a fine specificity are the same in normal and T15-suppressed mice. Interestingly this is true not only for the Group II but also for the Group I antibodies. Because the isolated Group I antibodies from normal mice differ in structure from those of T15-suppressed mice, i.e. different light chains, our data indicate that the isotype distribution of these two populations is associated with their fine specificity in addition to their clonal origin.
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceuticals Research Laboratories, Ciba-Geigy Ltd, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bruderer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aebersold
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blaser
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Heusser
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000145:classification*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002794:Choline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005260:Female; D006433:Hemocyanins / Q000276:immunology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes / Q000276:immunology*; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes / Q000032:analysis; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; D006433:Hemocyanins; C032808:keyhole-limpet hemocyanin; D002794:Choline