Influence of antigenic competition on the development of antibody-forming cell clones

Isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels was used to investigate the anti-sheep red blood cell antibody responses of mice subjected to antigenic competition. A reduction in the number and intensity of antibody bands was found, even in situations where the suppression of IgG antibody titres was minimal, while with large reductions in titre, antibody bands were rarely seen. It thus appeared that the output of individual B-cell clones was severely depressed during competition. It was concluded that inhibition of clonal expansion is an important feature of competition, and that this may reflect a normal regulatory activity which acts to limit cellular proliferation during immune responses. This conclusion was supported by observations on the level of DNA synthesis, following immunization with sheep red cells, in the spleens of normal and suppressed mice.