Immune responsiveness to IgG allotypes in the mouse was found to be controlled by an immune response gene Ir-IgG linked to the H-2 locus. This was demonstrated by the analysis of the immune response to BALB/c IgG (gamma2a) myeloma proteins in mice of various H-2 types from five different linkage groups of immunoglobulin heavy chains. Antisera were examined for antibodies to idiotypic (Fab) and allotypic (Fc) specificities. No immune response to BALB/c IgG myeloma proteins was found in mice with the same heavy-chain immunoglobulin linkage group as BALB/c but of different H-2 types. In mice with immunoglobulin heavy chains that are different than BALB/c, a high immune response to IgG myeloma proteins was found in H-2 types b, bc, p, r, s, and v; a low response in a, d, k, and q. The Ir-IgG gene is controlled by a dominant autosomal gene.
Animals Antibody Formation