Mice Show Distinct Antibody Patterns to Synthetic Double-Stranded RNA Complex

This 1984 study in Clinical and Experimental Immunology looked at how mice respond immunologically to a synthetic double-stranded RNA molecule called poly(G) . poly(C), made by pairing two synthetic ribonucleic acid strands (guanylic acid and cytidylic acid). Gaffiero and colleagues immunized ten inbred mouse strains with this complex and measured antibody production.

The mice fell into high responders (strains SJL/J and BALB/c), low responders (DBA/2 and AKR), and intermediate responders. This pattern held whether or not the molecule was attached to a carrier protein (MBSA) and after one or several injections; the resulting antibodies were found in the 7S region, a size class of antibody molecules. Compared with two other synthetic double-stranded RNA complexes, poly(A) . poly(U) and poly(I) . poly(C), and with single-stranded DNA, the immune response to poly(G) . poly(C) followed its own distinct pattern — antibodies against it could also bind poly(A) . poly(U), though no clear link between the two reactivities emerged.

This is a basic immunology study in mice using synthetic nucleic acids, not DNA fragments from a natural source and not a human or skin study. It cannot show anything about therapeutic use, wound healing, or skin effects; it is limited to characterizing how the mouse immune system distinguishes between different synthetic nucleic acid structures, with a passing note that related antibodies also appear in lupus patients.