B cell tolerance in mice transgenic for anti-CD8 immunoglobulin μ chain

To analyze in vivo the induction of B cell tolerance against a T cell surface antigen, we generated transgenic mice expressing an anti-CD8.2 μ heavy chain gene. We show that self-specific B cells are efficiently tolerized if they express the membrane-bound form of the transgenic μ chain on their surface but that they can escape tolerization if they express only the secreted form. In the latter, we find an enhanced expression of anti-CD8.2 antibodies after polyclonal B cell activation. As a result, transgenic anti-CD8.2 antibodies bind to the CD8+ T cells but they did not induce their elimination. Furthermore, we observed the preferential expression of a limited subset of endogenous light chains with the transgenic μ chain. This suggests a positive or negative selection for particular heavy and light chain combinations in B lymphocytes.