The present study employed Ighb scid mice reconstituted with normal lymphocytes from young (2 -3-mo-old) and aged (20 -25-mo-old) donors and immunized with a protein conjugate
of the hapten (4 - hydroxy -3-nitrophenyl) acetyl (NP) to determine whether the molecular changes in antibody repertoire reflect senescence in the B cells or whether they are mediated by the aging helper T lymphocytes.