Studies on Mouse Antibodies

Abstract

Summary and Conclusions The immune response of mice to one or more intraperitoneal injections of sheep red cells has been studied. A 25- to 100-fold variation in the dose of antigen that was injected into normal mice failed to have any significant effect on the formation of agglutinins and lysins. The kinetics of hemolysin and agglutinin formation differed, primarily because of the superior agglutinating activity of 7 S antibody, which appeared 24 hr after 19 S antibody and continued to increase as the titer of the latter dropped. While early lysins and agglutinins were ME-sensitive β-globulins, those appearing later were 7 S γ-globulins, among which the lysins appeared to possess greater electrophoretic mobility. The production of 19 S lysin in the primary response appeared to occur in two phases of which the early one was characterized by rapid rates of rise and decline, while the second phase was one of prolonged production at a slowly decreasing rate. Reinjection of antigen caused a rise of 19 S antibody in the continued presence of 7 S antibody which was similar to that following the first injection. A class of 7 S lysins and agglutinins, of γ1 and γ2 mobilities, was found to be sensitive to ME. Such antibodies were encountered during the early phases of the 7 S antibody formation in primary and secondary responses. In contrast to 19 S antibodies, which lost all serologic activity after ME treatment, these sensitive 7 S antibodies fully maintained their combining ability.