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Antigenic Competition Between Heterologous Erythrocytes

II. Effect of Passive Antibody Administration¹

From the Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510

Abstract

Passively administered anti-sheep red blood cell (SRBC) antibody inhibited the antibody response to an inoculation of 5 x 10⁸ SRBC, although the antigenic competition that results from this immunization was unaffected. Reducing the immunizing dose to 5 x 10⁶ SRBC, on the other hand, resulted in a vigorous antibody response but no antigenic competition. Thus, passive antibody is capable of blocking the antibody response by means other than simple neutralization of antigen. However, by increasing the amount of passive antibody both the antibody response and antigenic competition were eliminated, and therefore antigen neutralization may also occur. The differential effects of passive antibody administration and dose reduction were considered in the light of previously demonstrated thymic dependency of antigenic competition. It was concluded that passive antibody may allow antigen to interact with thymus-derived cells (T cells) while preventing interactions with bone marrow-derived cells (B cells), the precursors of the antibody forming cells.

Footnotes

¹ This work was supported by Grant CA-08593 from the National Cancer Institute.

² R. K. Gershon is a recipient of a Career Development Award CA-10,316 from the National Institutes of Health.