The avidity of IgM antibody in high and low responder rats.

This study examined IgM antibody produced by highly responding ACI and poorly responding F344 rats follwing immunization with poly(Glu52Lys33Tyr15) or poly(Glu52Lys33Tyr15) aggregated with methylated bovine serum albunim (MeBSA). The ACI rats produced both IgM and IgG plaque-forming cells (PFC) following immunization with either form of antigen. The F344 rats did not respond to unaggregated poly(Glu52Lys33Tyr15), but they produced significant amounts of IgG PFC and extremely small amounts of IgM PFC after immunization with poly(Glu52Lys33Tyr15)/MeBSA. Both high and low responder rats had similar kinetic profiles of IgM antibody production, and this antibody had nearly identical avidity in both strains with no evidence for any maturation in avidity. thus, one of the genetic defects in the antibody response to poly(Glu52Lys33Tyr15) is an inability of the F344 strain to produce large amounts of IgM in response to this antigen.