Ontogeny of B lymphocyte function with respect to the heterogeneity of antibody affinity

Abstract

Neonatal liver or adult spleen was used as a source of B lymphocytes in reconstituting lethally irradiated, syngeneic mice. Recipients were all given excess adult, syngeneic thymus cells, and were immunized with dinitrophenylated bovine gamma globulin. The distribution of avidities of plaque forming cells produced by immunized recipients of neonatal liver was highly restricted in comparison with animals reconstituted with adult spleen indicating a restriction of B lymphocyte heterogeneity in the neonatal mouse.