Antigen induces chronic idiotype suppression.

Hapten coupled to isologous gamma globulin can substitute for anti-idiotypic antibody in the induction of neonatal chronic idiotype suppression. The immunologically suppressed animals fail to express an idiotypically defined subset of anti-hapten antibodies in later life and harbor regulatory T cells that prevent the expression of this same antibody subset by B cells. Suppression ceases after several months, but memory of suppression persists and can be recalled by small doses of hapten-carrier conjugate. These data show that an antigen present in a mouse at birth is able to generate a T-cell-dependent suppressive mechanism that controls expression of antigen-specific antibodies through the recognition of antibody idiotypes. The idiotypic network is thus involved in the control of tolerance and the available antibody repertoire.