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ALLOTYPE AND CHARGE‐RELATED DIFFERENCES IN THE IMMUNE RESPONSE
Author(s) -
Notenboom, R. H.,
Dubiski, S.,
And B. Cinader,
Good P. W.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
international journal of immunogenetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.41
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1744-313X
pISSN - 1744-3121
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-313x.1982.tb00969.x
Subject(s) - antigen , hapten , chemistry , antibody , glutamic acid , lysine , amino acid , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , biochemistry , immunology
SUMMARY Rabbits homozygous at the Ab kappa chain allotypic locus ( Ab 4 /Ab 4 and Ab 9 /Ab 9 ) were immunized with negatively and positively charged antigens. The negatively charged antigens were bovine serum albumin (BSA; pI = 4.9), ovalbumin (OV; pI = 4.9) and two synthetic polypeptides: copolymer L‐glutamic acid L‐tyrosine (abbreviated TG; pI = 4.8) and multichain poly (L‐tyrosine: L‐glutamic acid) poly D‐alanine: poly L‐lysine (poly L‐lysine backbone) (abbreviated (TG) ‐ AL; pI = 4.8). The positively charged antigen was hen egg lysozyme (LYS; pI = 10.2). Homozygous Ab9 rabbits responding to negatively charged antigens made less antibody than did Ab4 homozygotes. In contrast, both groups of animals responded equally well to positively charged lysozyme. The relative electric charges of the antibodies were assessed by Sephadex A‐50 chromatography. The charge distribution was found to depend on the charge of the eliciting antigen. The positively charged antibodies of Ab 9 /Ab 9 rabbits were not nearly as positively charged as those raised in Ab 4 /Ab 4 rabbits. The difference in average electric charges and in the range of these charges between Ig Ab4 and Ig Ab9 explain quantitative differences in antibody formation in response to negatively charged antigens and may be a contributing factor to the ‘pecking order’, i.e. unequal phenotypic expression of ligh chain genes in Ab 4 /Ab 9 heterozygotes.