Shared idiotypic determinants on B and T lymphocytes reactive against the same antigenic determinants. I. Demonstration of similar or identical idiotypes on IgG molecules and T-cell receptors with specificity for the same alloantigens

Antigen-binding receptors on T lymphocytes and IgG antibodies with the same antigen-binding specificity as the T-cell receptors display shared or identical idiotypes. This was shown using a system where adult F1 hybrid rats between two inbred strains were inoculated with T lymphocytes from one parental strain. Such F1 hybrid rats produce antibodies directed against idiotypic determinants present on IgG alloantibodies, produced in the T donor genotype strain and with specificity for the alloantigens of the other parental strain. The idiotypic nature of the F1 antialloantibody serum against the parental alloantibodies was demonstrated both by indirect hemagglutination tests or by gel diffusion using alloantisera with different specificity as targets. Furthermore, the F1 anti-T-lymphocyte sera could be shown to contain antibodies against idiotypic parental T lymphocytes as well. This was shown by the capacity of the antisera, in the presence of complement, to wipe out the relevant parental T-cell reactivity against the other parental strain (as measured in MLC or GVH) whilst leaving the T-lymphocyte reactivity against a third, unrelated allogeneic strain intact. These findings demonstrate that F1 hybrid rats inoculated with parental T lymphocytes make anti-idiotypic antibodies directed against both the T cell receptors and IgG alloantibodies of that parental strain with specificity for alloantigens of the other parental strain. In order to prove identity between the anti-idiotypic antibodies against the B and T-cell antigen-binding molecules the following experiments were carried out; highly purified IgG from relevant alloantibody-containing serum in immunosorbent from could be shown to selectively remove both anti-idiotypic activities from the F1 antiserum. Further more, parental normal T lymphocytes could be shown capable of removing from the anti-idiotypic antisera all those antibodies that would cause agglutination of the relevant alloantibody-coated erythrocytes in the indirect agglutination assay. We would thus conclude that T and B lymphocytes reactive against a given antigenic determinant use receptors with antigen-binding areas coded for by the same variable gene subset(s).