We report a recurrent idiotype on a remarkably high fraction (4/19) of murine monoclonal antibodies specific for human Ia monomorphic determinants and elicited by separate immunizations. For three of them, the shared idiotype is associated with the antigen-combining site. These results indicate that the spectrum of mouse antibody responses to human Ia antigens may be based on recurrent idiotypes, suggesting a limited potential repertoire of murine monoclonal antibodies to human Ia antigens. Anti-idiotypic reagents might be helpful in dissecting this repertoire and to generate a mirror image of a human Ia antigenic map. Furthermore, antisera to the idiotype of antibodies specific for human Ia monomorphic determinants might help in elucidating the interactions between Ia molecules and receptors on immune cells.

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