Use of Anti-Idiotype Immunosorbents to Isolate Circulating Antigen-Specific T Cell-Derived Molecules from Hyperimmune Sera

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 80; no. 5; pp. 1435 - 1439
• Main Authors: Iverson, G. M., Eardley, D. D., Janeway, C. A., Gershon, R. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 01.03.1983; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Antigens; Antigens - isolation & purification; Antiserum; B lymphocytes; Chickens; Cross Reactions; Epitopes; Erythrocytes; Horses; Immunoglobulin Idiotypes - analysis; Materials; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Molecules; Polymorphism, Genetic; Rabbits; Receptors; Sheep; T lymphocytes; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.80.5.1435

We immunized four different sheep with antigen-binding material found in the serum of BALB/c mice 4 days after primary immunization with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC). The resultant antibodies made by the sheep contained a specificity(ies) that appeared to react with a dominant idiotype present on SRBC-specific Lyt-2+T cells. The antiserum made by the sheep markedly inhibited the formation of antigen-specific rosettes by SRBC educated T cells but did not inhibit T cells educated to other heterologous erythrocytes from forming crossreacting rosettes with SRBC or specific rosettes with the homologous erythrocytes. The ``anti-Id serum'' was depleted of all activity against known immunoglobulin isotypes and light chains and then was used to isolate antigen-binding molecules from mice that were hyperimmunized with SRBC. The ShId+material so isolated could be divided into two main groups--one that expressed immunoglobulin determinants, and one that did not. The former represented 15-25% of the ShId+protein isolated and comprised a minority of the anti-SRBC antibody in the anti-SRBC serum; the latter group of proteins bound sheep glycophorin specifically and expressed constant region determinants found on a number of other antigen-specific T cell factors. These experiments suggest that antigen-binding molecules made by T cells display much less heterogeneity than do antibodies and also show that the serum of hyperimmune mice contains significant amounts of T cell-derived antigen-specific immunoregulatory molecules.