Differential ability of B cells specific for external vs. internal influenza virus proteins to respond to help from influenza virus-specific T-cell clones in vivo.

When a helper T-cell (TH) clone specific for the hemagglutinin, neuraminidase, matrix protein, or nucleoprotein of influenza strain A/PR/8/34 is adoptively transferred to athymic mice 1 day after virus infection the anti-viral antibody response of the mouse is enhanced. This response is directed predominantly to the hemagglutinin and requires associative T-cell-B-cell interactions. Delaying transfer of the TH clone has three consequences: (i) the onset of the anti-hemagglutinin antibody response is delayed; (ii) the titer of the anti-hemagglutinin response is reduced; and (iii) the titer of the antibody in the response against the internal proteins, matrix protein and nucleoprotein, is enhanced upon transfer of matrix protein- or nucleoprotein-specific, but not hemagglutinin- or neuraminidase-specific, TH clones. Thus, there is a hierarchy of help: B cells recognizing viral surface components, hemagglutinin or neuraminidase, can receive help from TH clones specific for any of the major structural viral proteins. In contrast, B cells responding to internal viral components, matrix protein or nucleoprotein, are restricted to receiving help almost exclusively from TH clones with the same protein specificity. These observations suggest that, upon B-cell surface immunoglobulin-antigen interaction and uptake of intact virus, B cells specific for viral surface proteins process and present all major structural viral antigens, enabling the B cells to interact with TH clones specific for any virion protein. B cells recognizing internal viral components, which may be accessible to interaction with B-cell immunoglobulin receptors mainly as free proteins, would present only the protein for which they are specific and, thereby, receive help only from the TH clones of the same protein specificity.