Kerbel R S, Eidinger D
J Exp Med. 1971 May 1;133(5):1043-60. doi: 10.1084/jem.133.5.1043.
A striking correlation between the capacity of an antigen to nonspecifically suppress humoral immune responses of subsequently administered antigens which are non-cross-reacting, i.e. to manifest antigenic competition and produce enlargement of spleen size through cell proliferation, was found. Increase in spleen size was always accompanied by a drop in the normal proportion of thymus-derived cells to non-thymus-derived cells. Various means of altering the immune response to the initial antigen, and hence, the capacity of that antigen to suppress in a model of antigenic competition were performed and correlated with changes in spleen size and in the proportion of theta-positive cells in the spleen. In all instances, when the experimental condition reduced or abolished antigenic competition, the increase in spleen size and reduction in the proportion of theta-positive cells in the spleen was reduced or abolished. Furthermore, under conditions in which the suppressive capacity of the initial antigen was unaltered, the increase in spleen size and reduction in theta-proportion occurred normally. Finally, the better the suppression in a model of antigenic competition, the greater the increase in spleen size and reduction in the proportion of theta-positive cells. On the basis of these observations, it appears that there is a relationship between spleen enlargement through clonally restricted cell proliferation and the expression of antigenic competition; one cannot have the latter without the former. It is postulated that the immunological lesion associated with antigenic competition resides at the level of interference with cell interaction between thymus-derived antigen-reactive cells and marrow-derived antibody-forming cells. This occurs as a result of a relative "diluting out" of cells of both populations carrying antigenic specificity differing from the one(s) which induced the dilution effect in the first place. The net effect of this is to decrease the chance of a "hit" or interaction between a marrow-derived and thymus-derived cell of the same specificities. This mechanism, which is compatible with theories of clonal selection, and which in fact is dependent upon them, supports the view that the term "antigenic competition" is a misnomer; there is no competition by the antigens for anything. The term "antigen-induced suppression" is suggested as a more suitable alternative.
发现一种抗原对随后给予的非交叉反应性抗原的体液免疫反应具有非特异性抑制能力（即表现出抗原竞争并通过细胞增殖使脾脏肿大）之间存在显著相关性。脾脏肿大总是伴随着胸腺来源细胞与非胸腺来源细胞正常比例的下降。采用了各种改变对初始抗原免疫反应的方法，从而改变该抗原在抗原竞争模型中的抑制能力，并将其与脾脏大小及脾脏中θ阳性细胞比例的变化相关联。在所有情况下，当实验条件降低或消除抗原竞争时，脾脏大小的增加和脾脏中θ阳性细胞比例的降低也会减少或消除。此外，在初始抗原的抑制能力未改变的条件下，脾脏大小的增加和θ比例的降低正常发生。最后，在抗原竞争模型中抑制作用越好，脾脏大小的增加和θ阳性细胞比例的降低就越大。基于这些观察结果，似乎通过克隆受限细胞增殖导致的脾脏肿大与抗原竞争的表达之间存在关联；没有前者就不可能有后者。据推测，与抗原竞争相关的免疫损伤存在于干扰胸腺来源的抗原反应性细胞与骨髓来源的抗体形成细胞之间的细胞相互作用水平。这是由于携带与最初诱导稀释效应的抗原特异性不同的两种细胞群体的相对“稀释”所致。其净效应是降低具有相同特异性的骨髓来源细胞和胸腺来源细胞之间“命中”或相互作用的机会。这种机制与克隆选择理论相符，实际上依赖于克隆选择理论，支持了“抗原竞争”这一术语用词不当的观点；抗原之间不存在对任何东西的竞争。建议使用“抗原诱导的抑制”这一术语作为更合适的替代。
