Regulation of antibody response to SRBC. I. Influence of corpuscular and soluble form of erythrocyte antigen and antigen dose on antibody response in A/J and C57BL/10ScSn mice.

Mice of the inbred strain C57BL/10ScSn compared to the A/J strain produce ten times fewer IgG plaque-forming cells and serum IgG antibodies after primary and secondary SRBC immunization. Even after a repeated immunization with SRBC, the titres of IgG anti SRBC antibodies in serum do not reach the levels found in A/J mice. On the other hand, IgM anti SRBC antibodies are higher in C57BL/10ScSn mice and remain high, even after repeated immunization. Doses of antigen ranging from 1 X 10(7) to 1 X 10(10) SRBC per mouse i.p. did not change significantly the response of C57BL/10ScSn mice. Only the highest dose slightly increased IgG anti SRBC antibody production. The use of a soluble erythrocyte antigen with similar antigenic properties as the original corpuscular form did not change the nature of IgM and IgG anti SRBC antibody response.