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Modification of Antigenic Structure in Vivo: Quantitative Studies on the Processing of Streptococcal Cell Wall Antigens in Mice¹

From the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514

Abstract

Radioantibodies were employed to measure specific antigenic groups on streptococcal cell wall antigens. The processing of these precise chemical structures was followed in the homogenates of tissues of A.Sw mice at intervals following injection. There was an initial absolute increase in the number of antigenic structures as the macromolecule was degraded, suggesting that functional immunogenic groups are those structures which escape digestion. The rate and extent of the increase and decay was independent and characteristic of each group. This model also demonstrated the modification of structure by the animal to reveal "new" antigenic groups which were not detectable on the original molecule. These quantitative and qualitative changes of structural groups varied between different tissues and also in a given tissue depending upon the route of injection.

Footnotes

This study was supported by Grant AI-00949 from the United States Public Health Service and by Grant 67 655 from the American Heart Association.