Surface IgG-bearing cells retain the capacity to secrete IgM

Our previous studies indicated that a large proportion of surface IgG+-primed B cells give rise to clones secreting IgM antibodies. Due to the implications of this result relative to molecular mechanisms of class switching, it was important to document that the surface IgG had been endogenously synthesized by the surface IgG+ cells and was not present as a result of cytophilic IgG. Therefore, spleen cells from immunized mice were treated sequentially with anti-immunoglobulin and protease which removed greater than 99% of surface immunoglobulin. After overnight incubation to allow resynthesis of surface immunoglobulin, the treated cells were sorted for surface IgG-bearing cells and were transferred to carrier-primed, irradiated adoptive recipients for analysis in the splenic focus assay. It was found that the majority of antibody-secreting clones derived from these surface IgG+ B cells still synthesized IgM. These data are discussed relative to current concepts of molecular mechanisms of immunoglobulin class switching.