Specific reduction of the immune response to sheep red blood cells by the injection of syngeneic globulin on a non-immunogenic carrier.

Inoculation of normal (CBA X C57BL/6)F1 mice with syngeneic, cellulose-conjugated serum globulin containing anti-SRBC antibodies (anti-SRBC Ig-cel) induced a specific reduction of the immune response to SRBC. This was observed in situ as well as in the adoptive transfer experiments. In the latter case, the animals injected with cellulose-conjugated globulin were the donors of lymphocytes. Furthermore, it was found that the serum from mice injected with an anti-SRBC Ig-cel complex contained anti-idiotype antibodies which inhibited the syngeneic and, to a smaller degree, the parental anti-SRBC antibody-forming cells and had no effect on AFC of some other strains. The formation of anti-idiotype antibodies was T-dependent because these antibodies were produced by T-B mice but not by B mice. We assume that the observed reduction of the immune response to SRBC in vivo was due to the anti-idiotype response to a previous injection of cellulose-conjugated idiotype-positive anti-SRBC antibodies.