| Abstract: | Murine antibody responses to heterologous insulins are controlled by MHC-linked immune response genes. Although nonresponder mice fail to make antibody when injected with nonimmunogenic variants of insulin, we have recently shown that nonimmunogenic variants stimulate radioresistant, Lyt- 1+2- helper T cells that support secondary antibody responses. However, the helper activity can not be detected unless dominant, radiosensitive Lyt-1-2+, I-J+ suppressor T cells are removed. In this paper we report that extracts of primed Lyt-2+ suppressor T cells contain insulin-specific suppressor factors (TsF) that are capable of replacing the activity of suppressor T cells in vitro. The activity of these factors is restricted by MHC-linked genes that map to the I-J region, and immunoadsorption studies indicated that they bind antigen and bear I-J-encoded determinants. Insulin-specific TsF consists of at least two chains, one-bearing I-J and the other the antigen-binding site. Furthermore, mixing of isolated chains from different strains of mice indicates that the antigenic specificity is determined by the antigen-binding chain and the MHC restriction by the H-2 haplotype of the source of the non-antigen-binding, I-J+ chain. Moreover, mixtures containing antigen-binding chain from allogeneic cell donors and I-J+ chain from responder cell donors have activity in cultures containing responder lymphocytes. This suggests that preferential activation of suppressor T cells, rather than differential sensitivity to suppression, results in the nonresponder phenotype to insulin. |
