Restricted Clonal Response to DNP in Adult Offspring of Immunized Mice: A Maternal Effect

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Abstract
Preoccupation with the status of a fetus as a homograft within the mother seems to have led to a virtual overlooking of the mother as the environment of the fetus. The problem of the possible effect on the young of immunization of the mother was studied by comparing adult offspring obtained before and after maternal immunization in their response to nitrophenyl haptens. Maternal immunization has a strong influence on the response to nitrophenyl haptens of subsequently conceived offspring. They show, compared to young obtained before maternal immunization, a more restricted anti-DNP response both in terms of circulating antibody titer, determined by a modified Farr assay, and of the number of DNP-specific clones expressed, determined by isoelectric focusing. Possible mechanisms for this “maternal effect” and its relevance to studies of families showing antibodies of restricted isoelectric-focuing patterns are discussed.

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