Nature and mechanism of synthesis of nonspecific immunoglobulins

Mice were immunized with Vi-antigen. Suspensions of spleen cells, removed at various times after immunization, were incubated in Eagle's medium in the presence of¹⁴C-glycine. Synthesis of antibodies against Vi-antigen, autoantibodies against mouse IgG, and antigen-dependent nonspecific immunoglobulins (NIg) were determined by the use of specific immunosorbents. Immunization with Vi-antigen sharply intensified in the synthesis of antigen-dependent NIg. The formation of the proteins is thus observed not only during immunization with thymus-dependent antigens, but also in response to thymus-independent antigen. The synthesized antigen-dependent NIg were not autoantibodies against endogenous IgG.Laboratory of Chemistry and Biosynthesis of Antibodies, N. F. Gamaleya Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR P. A. Vershilova.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 88, No. 10, pp. 437–439, October, 1979.