Relationship between Histocompatibility (H-2) Genotype and Immune Responsiveness to Low Doses of Ovalbumin in the Mouse

A relationship has been recently described between the histocompatibility (H2) type of inbred strains of mice (1) and their immune responsiveness to low doses of hapten conjugates of bovine γ globulin (2,3). Several H-2k strains, as well as A/HeJ mice (H-2a) responded vigorously to immunization with repeated 0.1- to 1.0-µg doses of the conjugates, whereas H-2b, H-2d and H-2q strains failed to respond detectably. The present results indicate that the immune responsiveness to low doses of ovalbumin, or hapten conjugates of it, has nearly an opposite distribution. A single injection of 0.1 µg of ovalbumin in Al (OH)3 gel adjuvant induced intense and persistent primary antibody responses in H-2b and H-2q mice, whereas A/He mice (H-2a) and H-2k strains failed to respond. Young adult female mice were used for immunization. Inbred animals from several different strains, described in the text, were obtained from the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine.