Antigen presentation by hapten-specific B lymphocytes. IV. Comparative ability of B cells to present specific antigen and anti-immunoglobulin antibody.

The ability of trinitrophenyl (TNP)-binding murine B lymphocytes to present native rabbit IgG (RGG), TNP-modified RGG, and rabbit anti-mouse Ig (RAMG) to an Ia-restricted, RGG-specific helper/inducer T cell clone was compared. By three independent assays (lymphokine secretion, T cell proliferation, and B cell differentiation), TNP-RGG was presented at 10(2)- to 10(3)-fold lower concentrations than RGG, and RAMG at 10(2)- to 10(3)-fold lower concentrations than TNP-RGG. The available data suggest that the efficiency of antigen presentation is dependent primarily on the avidity of binding of a ligand to B cell surface Ig and/or the extent of subsequent endocytosis (modulation). Despite the observed quantitative differences between anti-Ig (RAMG) and specific antigen (TNP-RGG), these results demonstrate that qualitatively both are essentially similar in their ability to mediate specific T-B interactions. Thus, anti-Ig antibodies are valid models for analyzing cognate interactions between antigen-specific B and helper T lymphocytes.