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Induction of anti-idiotypic antibodies by immunisation with syngeneic spleen cells educated with acetylcholine receptor

Abstract

THE variable regions of antibodies contain unique antigenic markers called idiotypes1,2. According to Jerne's network theory, antibodies reacting specifically with idiotypic determinants (anti-idiotypes) might be involved in a normal event that modulates the degree and duration of the immune response3. In view of this hypothesis anti-idiotypic antibodies may have a practical application in medicine, for example, in the treatment of autoimmune diseases or other immunological disorders. It has been suggested that the fluctuating clinical symptoms in autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis or systemic lupus erythematosus are due to a regulatory effect of anti-idiotypic antibodies and that remissions are associated with an increase of specific anti-idiotypic activity4. Antibodies and antigen-binding receptors on the surface of lymphocytes share idiotypic determinants5,6. Thus, autoimmunisation with an individual's antibodies or lymphocytes carrying specific receptors for a given antigen may be an efficient way to produce specific anti-idiotypic antibodies7–9. The acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is a major autoantigen in myasthenia gravis and immunisation of animals with AChR (isolated from electric fish) results in the induction of an experimental autoimmune disease (experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis) similar to myasthenia gravis10,11. We have therefore prepared anti-idiotypic serum specific to AChR idiotypes to test whether it can affect the immune response against AChR and the clinical state resulting from AChR sensitisation. We describe here the preparation of specific C57BL/6J antiserum against AChR-educated lymphocytes and report its anti-idiotypic activity.

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SCHWARTZ, M., NOVICK, D., GIVOL, D. et al. Induction of anti-idiotypic antibodies by immunisation with syngeneic spleen cells educated with acetylcholine receptor. Nature 273, 543–545 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/273543a0

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