title: Cross-stimulation of monoclonal antibodies in anamnestic responses.
abstract: Immunization of BALB/c mice with Group A streptococcal vaccines leads to the induction of high levels of monoclonal antibody populations. Subsequent immunization of these mice with Group A-variant streptococcal vaccines induces a significant level of monoclonal antibody of A-variant antigen specificity revealed by labeled group A-variant polysaccharide. During these course Av and Av' immunizations, the monoclonal Group A-specific antibodies were also restimulated to levels usually higher than the variant-specific antibodies. With two exceptions, these homogeneous antibody populations were not cross-reactive in vitro with the related antigen. Such cross-stimulation of monoclonal antibodies was interpreted as a function of particular membrane properties of the Ig receptor-bearing memory cells which, for restimulation, would only require the structurally closely related antigen which serves as a backbone to the original antigen, and not necessarily the exact fit of the homologous immunodominant group.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D003429:Cross Reactions; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial