Relation of a cross-reactive idiotype to genetic control of the immune response.

Antibodies elicited in strain A mice by immunization with keyhole limpet hemocyanin-p-azophenylarsonate (KLH-Ar) produce anti-Ar antibodies, some of which share a cross-reactive idiotype (CRI); in general, 20 to 70% of the antihapten antibody population carries the idiotype. Large amounts of antibody can be produced by the induction of ascitic fluids, using a 9:1 ratio of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) to antigen. Antibodies with the CRI can be isolated by isoelectric focusing from selected mice that have produced a high concentration of the CRI. The H chains exhibit a single homogeneous sequence through the first hypervariable region and, when isolated from a large number of individual mice, appear to be invariant in the first framework region. These findings indicate that somatic mutation is not a significant factor in the determination of framework sequences. Appearance of the CRI can be suppressed in adult A/J mice by administration of rabbit anti-idiotypic antiserum prior to immunization. Such suppressed mice produce normal concentrations of anti-Ar antibodies lacking the CRI. Anti-idiotypic antibodies produced against such antibodies failed to show cross-reactivity with anti-Ar antibodies arising in idiotypically suppressed or nonsuppressed A/J mice. The great sensitivity of the assay indicates that the number of such "private" idiotypes, all present on anti-Ar antibodies of a single strain, must be extremely large; this supports a somatic mechanism for the generation of diversity. The "private" idiotypes arising in suppressed, hyperimmunized mice can be adoptively transferred into multiple, irradiated (200 R) recipients by injections of spleen cells or of cells from ascitic fluids. The use of ascitic fluids permits the rapid production of a colony of mice bearing the idiotype. This should facilitate structural studies of a variety of idiotypically different molecules sharing the same (anti-Ar) specificity, as well as studies of the mechanism of suppression.