Suppression of the immune response to altered self induced by immunogenic and nonimmunogenic altered self structures

✍ Scribed by Teresa Ramos; Erna Möller; Göran Möller

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1980
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 511 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.1830100206

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Fluorescein (FITC)‐haptenated mouse spleen cells are capable of inducing a B cell immune response characterized by the production of antibodies directed against hapten‐altered self structures. The induction of this response is thymus‐independent and strictly dependent on the hapten concentration used for labeling the cells.

Pretreatment of mice with immunogenic, labeled spleen cells strongly suppressed the plaque‐forming cell response to a subsequent challenge with FITC‐labeled spleen cells, sheep (SRC) or horse (HRC) red cells labeled with the same hapten and native FITC‐dextran.

Mice primed with lightly haptenated (nonimmunogenic) cells 7 days before challenge were completely unresponsive to the immunogenic dose of labeled cells and displayed a significantly reduced response to FITC‐SRC or FITC‐HRC. However, the response to FITC‐dextran was enhanced, as compared to unprimed animals.

The concept of immunogenic vs. nonimmunogenic requirements of an antigen to induce unresponsiveness, and the specificity of the B cell clones affected by suppression is discussed.