B cell repertoire diversity to PR8 influenza virus does not decrease with age.

The affect of aging on the B cell repertoire was investigated at the clonal level by studying the response of 24- to 26-mo-old BALB/c mice to the PR8 influenza virus (H1N1). By using the splenic fragment culture technique, it was found that the frequency of B cells specific for either the intact virion or the HA does not change with age. The anti-HA monoclonal antibodies obtained from culture were additionally analyzed for fine specificity by binding in RIA to a panel of six H1 variant viruses. This analysis showed a considerable similarity in the distribution and diversity of reactivity patterns between monoclonal antibodies derived from splenic B cells of young vs aged mice. These findings indicate that repertoire expression per se may not be truncated in aged mice, and imply that reductions in the diversity of serum antibodies in aged mice may be due to environmental regulatory mechanisms.