Monoclonal antibodies to guinea pig Ia antigens. II. Effect on alloantigen-, antigen-, and mitogen-induced T lymphocyte proliferation in vitro.

Four xenographic monoclonal antibodies to guinea pig Ia antigens were tested for their inhibitory effects on antigen-, alloantigen-, and mitogen-induced T cell proliferation. All four monoclonal antibodies reacted with strain 2 Ia antigens, and all four were capable of inhibiting the strain 13 against strain 2 mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) by 50-70%; the two monoclonals that reacted with strain 13 Ia antigens were also capable of inhibiting the strain 2 against strain 13 MLR. In contrast, an analysis of the effects of a single monoclonal antibody on the responses to several antigens demonstrated a selective monoclonal pattern of inhibition in that the responses to some, but not all, antigens were inhibited. These results suggest that monoclonal antibodies react with different parts of Ia molecules that may have different functional roles and that certain parts of an Ia molecule participate in the presentation of certain antigens, whereas other regions of the same molecule present different antigens.