Antigen-specific inhibition of ongoing murine IgE responses. II. Inhibition of IgE responses induced by treatment with glutaraldehyde-modified allergens is paralleled by reciprocal increases in IgG2a synthesis.

Administration of high m.w. glutaraldehyde-polymerized OVA (termed OVA-POL) before OVA-[A1(OH)3] immunization of C57BL/6 mice markedly impairs their capacity to generate OVA-specific IgE responses, while simultaneously resulting in striking enhancement of Ag-specific IgG2a responses. We demonstrate here that treatment with this class of chemically modified allergen also results in pronounced inhibition of ongoing IgE responses in vivo. The abrogation of well established murine IgE responses that is elicited after treatment with OVA-POL (i) is potent (97%), (ii) is long lived, and (iii) reflects reciprocal regulation of Ag-specific IgE and IgG2a responses in vivo. Moreover, the capacity of OVA-POL-treated mice to generate secondary IgE responses remains strongly decreased for at least 260 days and six subsequent immunizations with native allergen, despite there being no further treatment with modified allergen. These changes in IgE and IgG2a responsiveness are Ag specific and T cell dependent.