Molecules recognized by anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibodies to the B cell lymphoma, BCL1

Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to the variable portions of antigen receptors (anti-idiotypes and anti-idiotopes) are often employed to study the molecular nature and the biological role of these antigen receptors. Such antibodies are operationally defined as those antibodies which bind to a particular immunoglobulin but not to other immunoglobulins of the same class in a radioimmunoassay or ELISA. The monoclonal antibodies 32D1 and 31D1 were initially defined as anti-idiotypic as they recognized an immunoglobulin preparation from the murine B cell lymphoma BCL1, but not other immunoglobulins of the same isotype as assessed by a radioimmunoassay. A potential artifact in defining anti-idiotypic antibodies in this way is the possibility of copurification of antigen and antibody, resulting in the tentative identification of anti-antigen as anti-idiotype. Previous studies have demonstrated that BCL1-IgM is involved in binding of murine leukemia virus (MuLV), and BCL1 immunoglobulin and MuLV-gp70 apparently co-purified as an immune complex. Disruption of the immune complexes with SDS and sucrose gradient purification of the immunoglobulin was adequate to prepare BCL1 immunoglobulin free of gp70 as assessed by radioimmunoassay with the monoclonal anti-gp70 RA3-4A3. This preparation of immunoglobulin was used to show that 31D1 does not bind to BCL1 immunoglobulin, but to the contaminating gp70 in the BCL1 immunoglobulin preparation. However, MAb 32D1 was definitively proven to be anti-idiotypic as it recognized SDS sucrose density gradient purified IgM and immunoisolated heavy chain and light chain from BCL1 immunoglobulin. Several other lymphomas were recognized by mAb 32D1, including the T cell lymphoma UNC1 and the B cell lymphoma Balenlm17. To determine whether mAb 32D1 recognized immunospecific receptors on these lymphoma cell lines immunoprecipitation studies were performed. Immunoisolation and molecular analysis revealed that mAb 32D1 did not recognize the antigen receptor on these two cells, but instead recognized a cell-specific gp70. This observation demonstrates that monoclonal antibodies to known antigens (in this case an anti-idiotype) can crossreact with apparently unrelated molecules. The potential significance of this cross reaction to the antigens recognized by B cell lymphomas is discussed.