Failure of limiting antigen doses to selectively stimulate high-avidity memory cells

Mouse spleen cells secondarily stimulated with a small dose of antigen, which elicited few antibody-forming cells, produced antibodies of avidity no greater than that of antibodies synthesized by cells stimulated with an optimal antigen dose. This result is in conflict with the hypothesis that maturation of the immune response is based on competition for limiting amounts of antigen among cells with receptors of varying avidity.