Genetic control of the immune response to staphylococcal nuclease. VIII. Mapping of genes for antibodies to different antigenic regions of nuclease.

Abstract

Antibodies to staphylococcal nuclease were fractionated into 2 populations on the basis of their ability to bind to the CNBr cleavage product of nuclease comprising the C-terminal portion of the molecule from the 99th to the 149th amino acid. The 2 populations of antibodies, anti-nuclease (1-99)N and anti-nuclease (99-149)N, were prepared from a variety of strains, and analyzed using anti-idiotypic antisera raised against whole anti-nuclease antibodies from strains A/J, SJL, BALB/c and B10.A(2R). Anti-nuclease (1-99)N antibodies had the same pattern of reactivity with the anti-idiotypic antisera as did unfractionated antibodies; a different pattern was found for anti-nuclease (99-149)N preparations. Five anti-nuclease idiotypes, designated NASE markers, were identified and defined on the basis of their antigenic specificity and strain distribution. With these additional markers, it was possible to provide more detailed maps of variable (V) region genes in the strains BALB/c, CB.20 and the recombinant BAB.14. A recombinational event between V region genes during the development of the BAB.14 strain was suggested by the positioning of these NASE markers.