REAGINIC ANTIBODY-FORMATION IN MOUSE .8. DEPRESSION OF ONGOING IGE ANTIBODY-FORMATION BY SUPPRESSOR T-CELLS

Abstract

The ongoing IgE [immunoglobulin E] antibody formation against ovalbumin (OA) in high responder mice was depressed by i.v. injections of native or urea-denatured ovalbumin (UD-OA). Adoptive transfer experiments to determine the helper function of spleen cells from the treated animals showed that helper function for IgE and IgG antibody responses diminished after treatment. Treatment apparently suppressed the expansion of IgE-B [bone marrow-derived] memory cells. When the same treatment with OA or UD-OA was given to OA-primed mice before the appearance of IgE antibody in their serum, OA-specific splenic suppressor T [thymus-derived] cells were demonstrable. The transfer of splenic T cells from treated mice into normal mice suppressed the primary IgE and IgG antibody responses of the recipients to DNP-OA. The transfer of the splenic T cells from UD-OA-treated mice into OA-primed mice depressed ongoing IgE antibody formation in the recipients. The decrease of helper function and the depression of ongoing IgE antibody formation by repeated injections of UD-OA was probably caused by generation of antigen (OA)-specific suppressor T cells.