In vitro studies on allotype suppression. II. Regulation of antibody synthesis by anti-allotype serum.

The regulatory effects of rabbit antibodies specific for light chain determinants (b locus) on the formation of rabbit serum immunoglobulins have been studied in an in vitro system which measures of the response of unprimed rabbit spleen cells to solubilized T2 phage antigen. Treatment of spleen cells from b4b4 rabbits with anti-b4 serum, which was either incorporated into the culture medium or employed in appropriate pulse treatment of the cells before culture, prevented the formation of T2 neutralizing antibodies by such cells. Spleen cells of heterozygous (b4b5) rabbits formed anti-T2 antibodies which could be shown to be divided between the b4 and b5 specificities. Incorporation of anti-b4 or anti-b5 serum into the culture medium suppressed the specific anti-T2 response and, except in the instances noted in the text, did not significantly change the level of T2 neutralizing antibodies marked with the alternate allelic determinant. These findings are discussed in the light of the compensatory formation of an alternate immunoglobulin type which occurs during allotype suppression in vivo.