Characterization of an inbred mouse exhibiting low responsiveness to phosphorylcholine. Antibodies from low-responder mice suggest gene conversion events within the S107VH gene family.

An inbred strain was derived from feral mice that respond poorly to phosphorylcholine (PC) but responded normally to a variety of other Ag. Low responsiveness is inherited as a single recessive autosomal trait, characterized by very low levels of both PC-binding serum antibody and PC-specific B cells. Analyses of PC-reactive clonotypes generated in limiting dilution culture, as well as analyses of PC-specific hybridomas, indicate that this strain expresses L and H chain V regions not previously associated with high affinity murine PC-binding antibodies. Further, sequence analyses suggest gene conversion events occurred within the S107VH gene family among the progenitors of this strain subsequent to their divergence from those of most common laboratory strains.