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Maturation of the Immune Response to Soluble Rat Collagen: Late Appearance of Antibodies Directed to N-Terminal Sites of the 2-Chain

From the Max-Planck-Institut für Eiweiss- und Lederforschung, Abt. Kühn, München, Germany

Abstract

The specificity of rabbit antibodies to neutral salt-soluble rat skin collagen was studied by the aid of cyanogen bromide peptides. Early antisera contained mainly antibodies directed to C-terminal sequences of the 1 as well as of the 2 polypeptide chains. During hyperimmunization these titers usually were reduced and new 2-chain specific antibodies appeared. Inhibition tests demonstrated that they are directed to the N-terminal sequence. An increase in antigen dosage did not alter the early response. No exclusive relation of one of the different specificities to IgM antibodies could be demonstrated. The results were discussed in terms of competition between distinct antigenic determinants in the collagen molecule.