Restriction in the immune response to flagellar proteins in inbred mice.

Anti-idiotypic sera prepared in both AL/N mice and rabbits identify specificities common to the IgA MOPC 467 myeloma protein and day-7 affinity-absorbed antibodies to Salmonella milwaukee polymerized flagellin (S. mil-POL) raised in BALB/c and C57BL/Ka mice. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) of reduced and alkylated BALB/c anti-S. mil-POL gave a banding pattern of L and H-chains identical to MOPC 467. C57BL/Ka anti-S. mil-POL had a similar L-chain pattern but a different H-chain pattern. Both BALB/c and C57BL/Ka contain predominantly IgA. The IEF patterns in the two strains are consistent with a monoclonal response at day 7.