title: An idiotypic complementarity between rheumatoid factor and anti-peptidoglycan antibodies?
abstract: Groups of BALB/c mice have been repeatedly immunized with sterile affinity-purified human rheumatoid factor (RF) preparations from high-titred seropositive rheumatoid arthritis sera. In all cases, there was an antibody response reactive with Streptococcus pyogenes cell wall peptidoglycan-polysaccharide (PG-PS) polymer in both immunodiffusion and ELISA. This antibody could be absorbed by either excess RF or PG-PS, but not by isolated human non-RF IgG or IgM preparations. Groups of mice similarly immunized with non-RF IgG or IgM produced no significant anti-PG-PS antibody response compared with pre-immune sera. All immunogens lacked detectable PG-PS. Thus, anti-PG-PS antibody may be produced by RF immunization in the absence of PG-PS. This suggests some idiotypic complementarity between RF and anti-PG-PS antibodies.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes / Q000276:immunology*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000276:immunology*; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000276:immunology*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor