The immunoregulatory role of antigen-antibody complexes. I. Assessment of B and T-cell responses.

The capacity of ovalbumin-anti-ovalbumin complexes to prime T cells preferentially without concomitant induction of antibody synthesis was investigated. Whereas free antigen injection into mice primed T and B lymphocytes and induced antibody production, injection of antigen-antibody complexes did not result in antibody production but did result in T-cell priming. However, the data suggest that, notwithstanding the lack of induction of antibody synthesis by immune complexes, a low degree of B-cell priming by the complex occurred; this priming was of IgM precursors only. The results indicate that the immunoglobulin isotype composition of the complex may be important to this preferential effect.