Why is it so hard to dissociate multivalent antigens from cell-surface antibodies?

It is often difficult to induce dissociation of multivalent antigens that are bound to cells by surface-associated immunoglobulin (sIg), even when high concentrations of monovalent hapten are used to fill all free binding sites. Here, Byron Goldstein and Carla Wofsy discuss the evidence that this appears to be due to a cellular response triggered by sIg crosslinking and propose that a receptor-desensitization process is responsible for the transition of multivalent antigens to a dissociation-resistant state.