Abstract
In addition to the production of autoantibodies1 and rheumatoid factors2, other quite unique features accompany the immune response of various species to spontaneous infections or immunizations with cocci (streptococcus, pneumococcus, meningococcus, micrococcus). The immunoglobulin molecules produced are restricted in heterogeneity not only for antibodies raised against the bacteria3, but also for those raised against other antigens to which the animal is simultaneously immunized4,5. In the case of micrococcus and streptococcus vaccinations where this has been investigated, dormant immunoglobulin (Ig) genes are activated and appear as new allotypes in the sera6,7. Serum titres against maternal Ig light-chain allotypes increase considerably after immunization with micrococcus (W. van der Loo, personal communication). Such a pleiotropic effect suggests that bacterial vaccination affects the immune response at a very fundamental level. It was suggested that this aberrant behaviour of the immune response was driven by antibodies which cross-react with glycoprotein or glycolipid membrane components of the lymphoid cell population8. This was supported by the finding that purified anti-micrococcus antibodies, both in vivo and in vitro, affect the response of immunocompetent cells9. We now report that mouse anti-micrococcus antibodies recognize a membrane marker of mouse lymphoid cell lines, and that this marker is only exhibited after transition from non-confluent to confluent culture conditions.
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Grooten, J., De Baetselier, P., Vercauteren, E. et al. Anti-micrococcus antibodies recognize an antigenic marker of confluent mouse lymphoid cell lines. Nature 285, 401–403 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/285401a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/285401a0
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