Permanent alteration of the murine Ly-1 B repertoire due to selective depletion of Ly-1 B cells in neonatal animals.

Studies presented here demonstrate that paternal allotype Ly-1 B cells are permanently depleted following neonatal treatment with antibodies to the paternal IgM allotype. Paternal allotype conventional B cells, in contrast, are temporarily depleted by treatment with either anti-IgM or anti-IgD allotype antibodies and return rapidly to normal frequencies once the antibody treatment disappears. These differences are explained by basic developmental differences between Ly-1 B and conventional lineage B cells. That is, the conventional B cell population is replenished from Ig- precursors throughout life and, therefore, is only temporarily affected when depleted in neonates. The Ly-1 B cell population, in contrast, develops from Ig- progenitors during the prenatal and neonatal life but survives because it is exclusively self-replenishing in adults. Therefore, elimination of a population of Ly-1 B cells from neonates is tantamount to removing it forever. These findings suggest that while conventional B cells turn over rapidly and have an effectively unlimited repertoire, Ly-1 B cells express a repertoire whose composition is strongly influenced by neonatal conditions that favor or select against the retention of cells producing certain antibody molecules. Thus, Ly-1 B cells play a unique role in the immune system in that they retain indefinitely the history of the neonatal animal's immunological experience.