The Rise and Fall of Antibody Avidity at the Level of Single Immunocytes

[摘要] Antibody avidity for trinitrophenyl (TNP) was investigated at the level of single immunocytes in spleen cell populations from mice immunized by intravenous injection of TNP horse red blood cells. Early variations of avidity were observed before any significant increase in anti-TNP plaque forming cells (PFC) number was noticed. Subsequently, avidity increased with time, reached a maximum when the number of PFC attained the peak value, and then decreased as PFC were disappearing from the spleen. A 104-fold variation in antigen dose did not affect this pattern. Avidity and PFC number decreased with lower antigen doses.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）