Alteration of immunologic function through early ontogenetic experiences Selective inactivation of T15‐positive B cells in neonatal mice is related to receptor avidity and is independent of thymus function

The immunologic effects initiated by injecting neonatal mice with phosphorylcholine (PC)-protein conjugates were analyzed. Pretreated nude or thymus-bearing mice produced greater proportions of low-avidity, TEPC 15-negative antibody than control animals when challenged as adults with thymus-dependent (TD) or -independent (TI) PC-conjugated antigen. Furthermore, pretreatment had a greater inhibitory effect on responses elicited by TD compared with TI antigen. These results demonstrate that exposure of neonatal mice to PC-protein conjugates results in the selective inactivation of higher avidity, T15-positive, PC-reactive B cells; this process is independent of thymic function and the duration of hyporesponsiveness is linked to the relative T dependency of the challenge antigen.