ABSTRACT
The concept of internal image stems from the possibility of raising Ab3 antibodies that would recognize the original antigen. If one considers the possibility that the Ab1 D region is implicated in the GAT (glu-ala-tyr) binding, an Id-anti-Id recognition in the GAT system might involve a D-D interaction between Ab1 and Ab2, seen as a paratope-internal image recognition. In the GAT system, the key role played by the D region in the recognition of antigen and in the internal image construction may lead to propose that D-D regions represent one anchor of the Ab1-Ab2 or Ab2-Ab3 interactions. Production of Ab3 was quite easy and a rather large collection of hybridomas was obtained and characterized. Amino acid sequences were derived from mRNA data both for the heavy and the light chains of the various Ab2 molecules.
