Cellular Studies of the Genetic Control of Immune Response toward the Loop Region of Lysozyme

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Abstract
Specific antibody response to the “loop” peptide of hen egg-white lysozyme has been shown to be controlled by a single dominant gene which is not linked to the major H-2 histocompatibility locus (1, 2). A study of the cellular aspects of the immune response gene regulating immune potential to loop was made with syngeneic and allogeneic thymus and marrow cell transfers in irradiated recipients immunized with loop-A-L, loop-Pro-L or lysozyme. The allogeneic grafts were controlled for optimal cell interaction between the complementary cells of different H-2 origin by observing the expected responses to Pro-L and to lysozyme. No evidence for suboptimal nor superoptimal responses was detected with cell mixtures from SJL/J and DBA/1 donors. Results obtained from the cell transfer experiments were compatible with a defect reflected exclusively in the marrow cell population of low responders SJL/J mice for loop-Pro-L, and expressed in both the thymus and the marrow populations of relevant lymphoid cells from this strain for loop-A-L. These results are in agreement with the hypothesis (3) that the genetic defect is reflected in the thymus-derived cells, when the defect is at the carrier level, whereas it is expressed exclusively in the bone marrow population when the defect is at the determinant level.

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