Expression and regulation of two idiotype families and subsets within an idiotype family among BALB/c antibodies against p-azophenylarsonate.

The expression and regulation of the two different idiotype (id) families associated with the anti-p-azophenylarsonate (Ar) antibodies of BALB/c mice were examined. Both families ( 5AF6 and 3C6 ) represented cross-reactive idiotypes (CRI) expressed in the anti-Ar of most individual BALB/c mice. In response to keyhole limpet hemocyanin-Ar, an average of about 28% of BALB/c anti-Ar had 5AF6 family idiotopes, while 3C6 family was expressed on about 16% of BALB/c anti-Ar antibodies. Suppression induced by anti-idiotype treatment against one family did not suppress the expression of the other family, suggesting that the two families were regulated independently. However, the relative expression of one family could influence the expression of the other, because depression of the 5AF6 family tended to increase the expression of the 3C6 family of anti-Ar. Analysis of the 5AF6 family showed that a majority of BALB/c mice produced antibodies bearing most or all of the idiotopes associated with the family, but that a subset of about 35% of the antibodies synthesized lacked idiotopes associated with a monoclonal anti-Ar member of this family, 2.4. Treatment of mice with anti-idiotypes prepared against two different monoclonal anti-Ar of the 5AF6 family produced different effects: one enhanced while the other suppressed idiotype expression, suggesting that there are differences in the idiotopes associated with these two regulatory pathways. Additionally, results indicated that subsets of antibodies within the 5AF6 idiotype family could be regulated independently of each other.