Interferon-gamma potentiates antibody affinity in mice with a genetically controlled defect in affinity maturation.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), the tetrapeptide tuftsin and the synthetic nonapeptide from interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) (amino acids 163-171) have previously been shown to act on macrophages and/or T cells and to enhance antibody titres to T cell-dependent antigens. The ability of these immunomodulatory agents to potentiate antibody affinity in addition to antibody titre has been studied in a line of mice that fail to demonstrate normal maturation of antibody affinity (low N/M mice). The results presented here confirm that each of the agents potentiate antibody levels following simultaneous injection with a T cell-dependent antigen but demonstrate that only IFN-gamma is able to enhance antibody affinity in these mice. The observation that IFN-gamma can enhance both antibody affinity and antibody levels suggests that it could be an important adjuvant for vaccine use.