Transfer of idiotype suppression and idiotypes by leukocytes from ascitic fluids

A procedure is described for producing ascites containing both high concentrations of antibodies and immunologically active leukocytes. In mice that were immunologically suppressed with respect to a cross-reactive idiotype, the ascitic cells were found to be very active in adoptively transferring the suppressed state to mildly irradiated, syngeneic recipients and simultaneously transferring the capacity to produce the "private" idiotype characteristic of the donor's anti-p-azophenylarsonate antibodies. The participation of both T and B cells is therefore suggested. As few as 2 x 10(6) cells were sufficient for suppression and for inducing the production of the private idiotype in the recipient, in concentrations comparable to that of the donor mouse. A single donor can thus be used to colonize many recipients with the private idiotype, without sacrifice of the donor. The method should be useful in structural studies of antibodies of a given specificity with different idiotypes, and for investigations of the mechanism of idiotype suppression, as well as other studies in cellular immunology.