Idiotypic profile of the response to phosphorylcholine induced in the absence of the homologous antigen

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Abstract
In the absence of the homologous antigen, an anti‐phosphorylcholine (PC) plaque‐ forming cell (PFC) response has been induced in vitro which is restricted to the TEPC 15 idiotype (T15). Anti‐T15 antibodies were used to focus either the keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or the fowl gamma‐globulin (FGG) carrier molecules on the membrane of B cells carrying the T15 idiotype on their immunoglobulin receptors; thereafter, these cells were allowed to cooperate in vitro for 5 days with T cells primed to the appropriate carrier molecule. A response, virtually 100% T15+, could be induced both in normal BALB/c and in T15 neonatally suppressed mice which had lost the T15 + clonal dominance. The magnitude of this response is comparable to that obtained in the presence of the PC antigen. The role of the membrane‐bound immunoglobulin receptor (sIg) in the expression of different anti‐PC clones was also investigated. We have focused either the KLH or the FGG carrier molecules on the membrane of B cells via anti‐H‐2 antibodies and then cultured these cells for 5 days with the appropriate carrier‐specific T cells. Under these conditions, B cells are activated in the absence of interaction at the sIg. The idiotypic profile of the anti‐PC PFC obtained with the anti‐H‐2‐mediated activation was then compared with the profile of the anti‐PC response obtained in the presence of PC antigen. Since similar idiotypic profiles were obtained in both cases, it can be excluded that sIg plays a direct role in favoring the expression of T15+ over T15− anti‐PC clones.
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