Studies on the Control of Antibody Synthesis XI. Effect of Antigen on the Localization of Cells Secreting Different Avidity Antibodies

It was shown that rabbit popliteal lymph nodes draining the site of antigen injection tend to contain high avidity PFC while the PFC present in sites distant to the antigen injection tend to be of low avidity. When different doses of antigen are injected into the two rear footpads the popliteal node draining the side receiving the higher dose of antigen tends to contain more and higher avidity PFC. If antigen injections are given serially, 1 week apart, into different footpads, then the popliteal node draining the site of the first antigen injection tends to contain more and higher avidity PFC regardless of the dose of antigen used. Thus, antigen availability appears to be a critical factor in determining the localization of precursors of PFC. Following an injection of antigen, high avidity PFC (or their precursors) appear to be preferentially retained in the node draining the site of antigen injection; only low avidity PFC are found at distant sites. In addition, there is a depletion of the available pool of high avidity B-cell precursors of PFC so that a second injection of antigen, at a distant site, stimulates mainly low avidity PFC in the lymph nodes draining the site of the second antigen injection.