Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol 144, 226-240, Copyright © 1976 by Rockefeller University Press
Histocompatibility antigens and genetic control of the immune response in guinea pigs. III. Specific inhibition of antigen-induced lymphocyte proliferation by strain-specific anti-idiotypic antibodies
AF Geczy, CL Geczy and AL de Weck
The in vitro T-cell proliferation induced by penicilloylated bovine IgG
(BPO-BGG) in sensitized strain 2 and strain 13 guinea pigs could be
specifically blocked by strain-specific antisera presumably directed
against cell membrane-associated immunoglobulin idiotypes. The anti-
idiotypic antisera were prepared in strain 2 and strain 13 guinea pigs
against immunoadsorbent purified anti-BPO-BGG antibodies which had been
raised in strain 2 and strain 13 animals. Strain 13 antistrain 13 anti-
BPO-BGG (a strain 13 BPO-BGG) suppressed the in vitro BPO-BGG response of
cells from immunized strain 13 animals but did not inhibit the response of
cells from immune strain 2 animals. Conversely, the corresponding antiserum
raised in a strain 2 combination (a strain 2 BPO-BGG) only inhibited the in
vitro BPO-BGG response of strain 2 cells. Furthermore, the inhibitory
activity of the antisera could only be absorbed by immune cells from the
syngeneic strain. The activity of the a strain 13 BPO-BGG serum was highly
specific; the inhibitory activity could only be absorbed by
BPO-BGG-sensitive strain 13 cells. The inhibitory activity of the
anti-idiotypic sera was predominantly associated with the 19S fraction. The
data suggest that immune cells and in particular T lymphocytes from strain
2 and strain 13 guinea pigs possess strain-specific recognition structures
from BPO-BGG with the same idiotypes as the corresponding strain-specific
immunoglobulins. Furthermore, the production of such inhibitory
anti-idiotypic sera was restricted to syngeneic combinations, which
suggests a potential role of autoanti-idiotypic antibodies in the
regulation of the immune response. The anti-idiotypic antisera used here
are apparently directed against gene products not associated with the
strain 2 or strain 13 major histocompatibility complex.