| Summary: | Idiotypic determinants are the antigenically unique sites of the variable regions of immunoglobulin molecules, which distinguish antibodies of different specificities, and are defined by antiidiotypic antibodies (1-5). Because the variable region sequence determines both antibody specificity and idiotype, it is expected that antibodies of different specificity should have different idiotypes (1-5). Therefore, even antibodies that are specific for one antigenic molecule are expected to have different idiotypes when they are specific for different epitopes (6), although several cases in which antibodies of different specificity share idiotypes have been reported (7-12). In addition, it has been shown that H-2linked Ir ~ genes can independently control the antibody response to different sets of epitopes on the same antigenic molecule (13-16). Such Ir genes would be expected to influence also the idiotype of antibodies (6). However, this prediction has not been tested experimentally. We have been studying the H-2-1inked Ir gene control of the antibody and T cell responses to sperm whale myoglobin (Mb), a model globular protein antigen
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