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Antibody responses to hapten in thymectomized mice: extraordinarily pronounced deficiency in IgG1 production
I J Seppälä1, M Hurme, O Mäkelä
1Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
The effect of thymectomy on the production of antibodies was studied by immunizing mice with hapten-carrier conjugates. Antibody responses were analysed with monoclonal antibody-based quantitative isotype-resolving assays. In spite of bone marrow reconstitution, irradiation without thymectomy caused a long-lasting relative deficiency in responsiveness to T-independent antigens. Even when no visible remnants of the thymus could be observed at the autopsy of thymectomized mice, there appeared to be a gradual recovery of antibody-forming capacity within 4 months, as assessed by the response to a T-dependent antigen. Therefore, some of the thymectomized mice had to be regarded as having recovered with respect to the helper T-cell effect. The antibody responses to T-dependent antigens were improved in all isotypes by a functional T-cell system, but the IgG isotypes seemed to benefit more than IgM. The most conspicuous deficit in antibody production in non-recovered thymectomized mice was observed in the T-dependent responses of the IgG1 isotype (2000-fold reduction in contrast to about 50- to 100-fold in IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3).
The effect of thymectomy on the production of antibodies was studied by immunizing mice with hapten-carrier conjugates. Antibody responses were analysed with monoclonal antibody-based quantitative isotype-resolving assays. In spite of bone marrow reconstitution, irradiation without thymectomy caused a long-lasting relative deficiency in responsiveness to T-independent antigens. Even when no visible remnants of the thymus could be observed at the autopsy of thymectomized mice, there appeared to be a gradual recovery of antibody-forming capacity within 4 months, as assessed by the response to a T-dependent antigen. Therefore, some of the thymectomized mice had to be regarded as having recovered with respect to the helper T-cell effect. The antibody responses to T-dependent antigens were improved in all isotypes by a functional T-cell system, but the IgG isotypes seemed to benefit more than IgM. The most conspicuous deficit in antibody production in non-recovered thymectomized mice was observed in the T-dependent responses of the IgG1 isotype (2000-fold reduction in contrast to about 50- to 100-fold in IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3).