Use of anti-idiotype immunosorbents to isolate circulating antigen-specific T cell-derived molecules from hyperimmune sera.
We immunized four different sheep with antigen-binding material found in the serum of BALB/c mice 4 days after primary immunization with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC). The resultant antibodies made by the sheep contained a specificity(ies) that appeared to react with a dominant idiotype present on SRBC-specific Lyt-2+ T cells. The antiserum made by the sheep markedly inhibited the formation of antigen-specific rosettes by SRBC educated T cells but did not inhibit T cells educated to other heterologous erythrocytes from forming crossreacting rosettes with SRBC or specific rosettes with the homologous erythrocytes. The "anti-Id serum" was depleted of all activity against known immunoglobulin isotypes and light chains and then was used to isolate antigen-binding molecules from mice that were hyperimmunized with SRBC. The ShId+ material so isolated could be divided into two main groups--one that expressed immunoglobulin determinants, and one that did not. The former represented 15-25% of the ShId+ protein isolated and comprised a minority of the anti-SRBC antibody in the anti-SRBC serum; the latter group of proteins bound sheep glycophorin specifically and expressed constant region determinants found on a number of other antigen-specific T cell factors. These experiments suggest that antigen-binding molecules made by T cells display much less heterogeneity than do antibodies and also show that the serum of hyperimmune mice contains significant amounts of T cell-derived antigen-specific immunoregulatory molecules.
D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002645:Chickens; D003429:Cross Reactions; D006736:Horses; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes / Q000032:analysis*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011817:Rabbits; D012756:Sheep; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
D000941:Antigens; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes