Cl. Benedict et Jf. Kearney, Increased junctional diversity in fetal B cells results in a loss of protective anti-phosphorylcholine antibodies in adult mice, IMMUNITY, 10(5), 1999, pp. 607-617
Fetal Igs are less diverse than adult Igs, largely because of the lack of N
addition in the absence of Tdt. To test whether the absence of Tdt is esse
ntial, we generated Tg mice that express Tdt and add N regions in fetal B c
ells. When challenged as adults with PC-containing Streptococcus pneumoniae
, these mice fail to make the hallmark T15 anti-PC Ab encoded by canonical
rearrangements of Ig H and L chain genes. The anti-PC Abs from these mice a
re altered by premature N addition and do not protect against death from vi
rulent pneumococcal infection. These results show that maintenance of lower
Ig diversity in early life is essential for the acquisition of a complete
functional adult repertoire.