Characterization and biologic activities of an anti-idiotype-specific T cell line and its derived clones.

Monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies were prepared against monoclonal antibodies (mAb103) specific to the synthetic polypeptide antigen (T,G)-A-L. A cell line was established by the stimulation of C3H.SW mouse T cells with one of the monoclonal anti-idiotypes (mAbA-6) that reacted with both mAb103 and conventional (T,G)-A-L-specific antibodies. The T cell line proliferated specifically in the presence of the homologous mAbA-6 and to a lesser degree when triggered with (T,G)-A-L. The line could help (T,G)-A-L primed B cells in the production of (T,G)-A-L-specific antibodies when stimulated in vitro with either (T,G)-A-L or mAbA-6. Clones obtained from the line were stimulated and maintained in culture in presence of mAbA-6 whereas others were stimulated and grown in the presence of (T,G)-A-L. Both types of clones proliferated only in the presence of mAbA-6 although (T,G)-A-L could inhibit efficiently and specifically the latter proliferation. A significant number of the (T,G)-A-L-stimulated clones could collaborate with (T,G)-A-L primed B cells in the presence of either (T,G)-A-L or mAbA-6 for the production of specific antibodies. Immunoblotting experiments indicated that mAbA-6 reacted with both the T cell receptor of the mAbA-6-specific T cell line and of a (T,G)-A-L-specific T cell line but not with that of a line specific to a nonrelated antigen.