Age-related strain differences in the development of auto-anti-idiotypic antibody regulation in the splenic and mucosal-associated lymphoid systems.

In the present study, we examined the changes that occur with age in anti-idiotype-blocked, hapten-augmentable PFC in the mucosal-associated lymph nodes (MLN and BLN) and spleen of various strains of mice. 2-month-old 129/J, AKR/J, and C57L/J mice had a high percentage of hapten-augmentable PFC in their spleen, MLN, and BLN; however, by 6-11 months these values had declined considerably in the spleen, while mucosal values remained high. In contrast, 2-month-old C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, and C3H/HeJ mice had a low percentage of hapten-augmentable PFC in their spleen, MLN, and BLN; but by 6-11 months these values had increased considerably in the spleen, while mucosal values remained low. CBA/J and SJL/J mice maintained high and low levels, respectively, of hapten-augmentable PFC in their spleens, MLN, and BLN over the age span. NZB/BinJ mice were found to be low producers in the spleen, but high in the MLN and BLN at 2 and 6 months of age. These data indicate that there are strain differences in the development of auto-anti-idiotypic antibody regulation with age.