Effect of CBA/N xid on spontaneous production of antibodies to DNA in MRL/1 and NZB backcross mice.

We have used the CBA/N X-linked B-cell maturation defect (xid) as a probe to analyse the B-cell subset involved in spontaneous anti-DNA production in MRL/1 and NZB mice. The presence of xid in NZB offspring significantly suppressed anti-DNA production, whereas it did not suppress spontaneously produced antibody to DNA in MRL/1 offspring. These studies suggest that largely non-overlapping B-cell subsets are responsible for the spontaneous production of anti-DNA in MRL/1 and NZB mice.