Spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with heat-killed rough pneumococci (strain R36A) or spleen cells from normal mice immunized in vitro with the same antigen produce direct hemolytic plaques against sheep erythrocytes coated with pneumococcal C polysaccharide or conjugated with phosphorylcholine. Formation of plaques is specifically inhibited by phosphorylcholine or by antiserum to mouse immunoglobulin A myeloma protein which binds phosphorylcholine. Thus, the myeloma proteins and normal BALB/c antibodies share similar idiotypic determinants. This experimental system is suitable for probing the role of the antigen receptor in the immune response.

Balb

No abstract

The anti-PC antibodies of BALB/c origin bear predominantly the idiotype characteristic of the phosphorylcholine (PC)-binding T15 idiotype than sera from adult mice, and, unlike the latter, they also contain detectable amounts of anti-T15 antibodies. By 2 weeks of age the anti-T15 antibodies are no longer detectable while the T15 idiotype has reached adult levels. Injection of neonatal mice with anti-idiotypic antibodies renders them unresponsive to PC until the 15th week of life. Furthermore, this treatment induces a chronic suppression of the T15 idiotype, since on recovery from unresponsiveness, the neonatally suppressed mice produce anti-PC antibodies which are predominantly T15-negative. In contrast, treatment of adult mice with anti-idiotypic antibodies induces only a transient state of unresponsiveness to PC, and the antibodies produced upon recovery bear the T15 idiotype. These findings are discussed in the context of idiotype anti-idiotype interactions and their possible role in immuno-regulation.