Allotype suppression in the chicken. II. Suppression in homozygous chickens with antiallotype antibody and allotype-disparate B cells.

Injection of heterozygous (M-1a/M-1b, G1g/G-1i) B 14-line chickens with antisera directed against either IgM-1a or IgM-1b induced suppression of the relevant IgM-1 and genetically linked IgG-1 allotypes, whereas a mixture of anti-M-1a and anti-M-1b antibodies failed to produce allotype suppression. Injection of anti-M-1 antiserum into M-1 homozygous chickens induced only a transient delay of a few days in the appearance and rise of serum IgM-1 levels. However, suppression of host allotypes was induced by injecting M-1, G-1 homozygous neonatal or embryonal recipients with anti-M-1 antisera together with B locus- histocompatible allotype-disparate spleen, bone marrow or bursal cells. The active cell type were donor B cells, which established chimerism in the injected host, whereas peripheral blood T lymphocytes from agammaglobulinemic donors were ineffective. Allotype suppression was attributed to a homeostatic control mechanism which is exerted by normal B cells (but not T cells) over B cell recruitment in anti-M-1 antibody-treated, immature hosts.