title: Restricted adult clonal profiles induced by neonatal immunization. Influence of suppressor T cells.
abstract: The effects of neonatal antigen exposure on the adult B cell repertoire have been examined by characterizing the influenza hemagglutinin (HA)-specific response of adult BALB/c mice given antigen soon after birth. Ligand exposure during early life exerts a profound and lasting effect upon the B cell repertoire, characterized by the expansion and preservation of particular antigen-reactive clones and the apparent loss of others. The precise subset of clonotypes selectively preserved depends upon the age at which antigen is first encountered; and is predictable given a knowledge of the emerging primary pool's dynamics and composition. The preserved (secondary) B cells differ from their unprimed precursors with respect to (a) expression of the surface marker detected by the monoclonal antibody J11d, and (b) susceptibility to T cell-mediated suppression. These studies thus demonstrate a strong relationship between the heritable dynamics of the emerging primary B cell repertoire and the effect of ligand-driven events upon repertoire phenotype. In addition, they provide a mechanistic model for certain forms of antigen-induced oligoclonal dominance, especially the phenomenon of original antigenic sin.
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000276:immunology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000276:immunology; D006389:Hemagglutinins, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D007114:Immunization; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D006389:Hemagglutinins, Viral