par Moser, Muriel ;Leo, Oberdan ;Hiernaux, Jean-Pierre;Urbain, Jacques
Référence Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 80, 14, page (4474-4478)
Publication Publié, 1983-07
Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : The response of A/J mice to arsonate-coupled keyhole limpet hemocyanin is characterized by a crossreactive idiotype (CRIA). CRIA+ antibodies are restricted to the Igh-Ic haplotype and are never expressed in BALB/c mice after immunization with antigen. Studies at the DNA level suggest that the gene encoding the CRIA heavy chain in A/J mice is probably absent in the genome of BALB/c mice. Despite this, using the immunization cascade tool, we have been able to induce the expression of CRIA+ antibodies in BALB/c mice. These studies led to an apparent paradox, whose understanding will provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of the immune system. We suggest that clones secreting CRIA-like Igs in BALB/c mice are "somatic variants" that could arise from gene conversion events.