Effect of Blocking the Active Site of an Antibody on the Expression of Its Idiotypic Determinants during Immunization

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Antiidiotypic antibodies were elicited in rabbits by immunization with soluble complexes consisting of anti-p-azobenzoate antibody and excess (RGG)-p-azobenzoate. Nearly all of the antiidiotypic antisera, in contrast to such antisera formed in response to free antibenzoate antibody, were not inhibitable by haptens, i.e., by benzoate derivatives of low molecular weight. The results indicate that when the active site is blocked during immunization, antiidiotypic antibodies are directed exclusively to determinants outside the active site. The antigen, RGG-p-azobenzoate, evidently is not removed from the antibenzoate antibody before the recognition process in the recipient animal. The immunogenicity of soluble complexes is lower than that of the free antibody, as indicated by the relatively smaller percentages of donor antibody precipitable by antiidiotypic antisera. This also was attributed to blocking of an important idiotypic determinant.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: