Anti-idiotypic antibodies to anti-acetylcholinereceptor antibody: Characterization by ELISA and immunoprecipitation assays

The idiotype network is important both as a means of autoregulation of immune mechanisms and a potential tool for manipulation of abnormal responses. In the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is the target of an aberrant immune response. In this study we compare 2 widely used methods of antibody determination--immunoprecipitation radioimmunoassay (IPRA) and enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA)--for their ability to detect both anti-AChR antibodies (polyclonal and monoclonal) and anti-idiotypic antibodies raised against polyclonal anti-AChR antibodies. Although the IPRA is considerably more sensitive for the detection of monoclonal anti-AChR antibodies, the 2 methods produce similar results in the detection of anti-idiotypic antibodies to the anti-AChR immune response. The 2 techniques also demonstrated specificity of the reagents for idiotypes associated with the anti-AChR response and absence of effect on an idiotype associated with the control antigen, ovalbumin. The results demonstrate that the idiotypic repertoire of the polyclonal anti-AChR response in C57B1/6 mice is sufficiently restricted that antigen-specific blocking anti-idiotypic antibodies can be raised in rabbits by immunization with anti-AChR antibodies.