Increased frequency of rheumatoid factor precursor B lymphocytes after immunization of normal adults with tetanus toxoid.
Vaccination of normal adults with tetanus toxoid induced a two-three-fold rise in the frequency of IgM anti-IgG (rheumatoid factor, RF) B lymphocytes inducible by the polyclonal B cell activator, Epstein-Barr virus. The increase in IgM-RF precursors occurred earlier, was greater in magnitude, and was more sustained than the change in plasma IgM-RF. It was associated with a rise in total IgM levels, and correlated positively with the magnitude of the IgG anti-tetanus antibody response, but not with levels of circulating immune complexes. The ability of apparently innocuous infections and immunizations to increase the frequency of IgM-RF precursor B lymphocytes may be the reason for the previously noted expansion in this autoreactive B cell pool between birth and adulthood.
D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014611:Vaccination
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor