The role of antigen-presenting cells in the IgE antibody response. I. The induction of high titer IgE antibody responses in IgE high-responder and low-responder mice by the administration of antigen-pulsed macrophages in the absence of adjuvants.

The administration of 2 i.p. injections of 2 x 10(7) ovalbumin- (OA) pulsed, syngeneic, adherent, peritoneal exudate cells (OA-pulsed macrophages [M phi]) to (C57BL/6 x DBA/2)F1 (B6D2F1) mice promoted a persistent and high-titer anti-OA IgE response in these mice. Similarly, 2 i.p. injections of OA-pulsed DBA/2 parental M phi also induced the generation of an anti-OA IgE response in B6D2F1 mice; an identical procedure using OA-pulsed C57BL/6 parental M phi, on the other hand, elicited in most cases a very weak to negligible anti-OA IgE response. The administration of 3 i.p. injections of OA-pulsed syngeneic M phi to SJL mice also induced these "IgE nonresponder" mice to develop an anti-OA IgE response that was both boosterable and of moderate to high titer. The significance of these results with regard to the induction and regulation of the IgE antibody response is discussed.