Idiotypic analysis of antibodies to hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL). III. Further studies on the idiotypic cross-reactivity among anti-HEL antibodies in mice.

An isolated antibody preparation directed to the native hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL) from a single A/J mouse (#a-11), termed IDHELa-11, was inoculated into rabbits to produce anti-idiotypic sera (anti-Id). The antisera were extensively absorbed with normal A/J Ig to render then idiotype specific. Radioimmunoassay utilizing 125I-IdHELa-11 and the anti-ID sera (R103 and R104) was performed to examine the idiotypic cross-reactivity of the humoral immune response to HEL in various mouse strains and other animal species. Idiotypes shared by IdHELa-11 were detected in the sera of five mouse strains tested, but not in any of the examined sera of other animal species such as rats, goats, guinea pigs, or sheep, indicating the occurrence of species-specific cross-reactive idiotypes (CRI) of antibodies to HEL. Our experiments also suggested the presence of intrastrain CRI. The present experiments, along with our earlier results (15), suggest that idiotypic cross-reactivity among murine antibodies to HEL appears to be weak. Thus when R103 and R104 were the anti-Id sera used, the frequency of occurrence of CRI shared by IdHELa-11 in 5 micrograms of anti-HEL antibody in strain A mice was 74 ng and 111 ng; in other strains it was 25-44 ng and 60-98 ng, respectively.