The effects of idiotype on the ability of IgG 1 antiphosphorylcholine antibodies to protect mice from fatal infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae

Anti-phosphorylcholine (PC) antibodies of the mouse are found in three different idiotype families: T15, M603 and M511. These subgroups exhibit different specificities for PC analogs and utilize light chains of different V L subgroups. In this study we have found that IgG 1 antibodies of the T15 idiotype are much more protective against pneumococcal infection than IgG 1 antibodies of the M511 or M603 idiotypes. This finding provides additional evidence that the T15 V H and V L genes may have evolved to protect mice from infection with PC-bearing pathogens.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37959/1/1830141112_ftp.pd