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Repertoire Shift Occurs During the Memory Maintenance Phase of the Immune Responses and is Not Affinity‐Driven
Author(s) -
Kerstin Andersson,
Jens Wrammert,
Tomas Leanderson
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3083.1999.00496.x
Subject(s) - hapten , affinities , antibody , antigen , immune system , biology , repertoire , population , antibody repertoire , affinity maturation , immunology , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , genetics , medicine , biochemistry , physics , environmental health , acoustics
We have examined the immunoglobulin variable gene usage and antibody affinities during the memory maintenance phase of the immune response to the hapten phenyl‐oxazolone. Hapten‐specific hybridomas representing the memory population were generated 4–6 months postimmunization. The V‐gene expression of these hybridomas was determined by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction screening and antibody affinities were estimated by biointeraction analysis (BIA) using the BIAcore biosensor. Our results show that the V‐gene repertoire has already been shifted during the memory maintenance phase of the immune response, i.e. prior to a second antigenic challenge, and did not entail any advantages in terms of antigen‐binding capacities. Our results concur with the view that antibody affinities are modulated mainly through differences in dissociation rates rather than in association rates, and the implications of this with respect to affinity maturation is discussed.