Ontogenic development of autoantibody repertoires in spleen and peritoneal cavity of normal mice: examples of T cell‐dependent and ‐independent reactivities

摘要

AbstractThe ontogenic development of B cell clonal precursors (BCP) reactive to bromelaintreated, syngeneic erythrocytes (BrMRC) and to single‐stranded DNA has been studied by limiting dilution of both spleen and peritoneal cells. It was found that the frequency of anti‐BrMRC BCP in the spleen is very low up to 4 weeks of age and slowly increases thereafter, to reach adult levels by 6–10 weeks. In the peritoneal cavity, no such BCP can be found before 2 weeks, but they occur at a very high frequency already by 3 weeks of age. Injection of adult, normal syngeneic T cells at birth has no apparent effect on the representation of anti‐BrMRC BCP in the peritoneal cavity, but brings these to adult levels or even higher in the spleen already at 3 weeks of age. Accordingly, adult athymic (nude) mice contain normal frequencies of BrMRC‐specific BCP in the peritoneal cavity but are devoid of such clones in the spleen. In contrast, the frequency of anti‐DNA BCP is very high throughout postnatal development in both spleen and peritoneal cavity, of normal and athymic mice, in both resting and naturally activated splenic B cell compartments, and it is independent of T cell transfers into nude animals. These results indicate the role of T cells in the establishment of some clonal specificities in the adult, splenic autoreactive B cell