HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Strausbauch, P. H. Articles by Sela, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Strausbauch, P. H. Articles by Sela, M.

Stimulation in vivo and in vitro of Anti-Dinitrophenyl Antibodies with Homologous Protein Carriers Devoid of Hapten¹

From the Department of Chemical Immunology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

Abstract

Rabbits were immunized with dinitrophenyl-protein conjugates in complete Freund's adjuvant. After 2 to 4 weeks single cell suspensions were made from the spleens of these animals and cultured in vitro. A positive anti-dinitrophenyl secondary response was obtained in these cultures upon subsequent exposure to either dinitrophenyl-homologous protein carrier or homologous carrier alone. No response was obtained after addition of either dinitrophenyl-heterologous protein conjugate or unrelated protein. A positive response was indicated by an increase in cell proliferation, appearance of specific antibody-producing cells, and formation of soluble antibodies upon addition of antigen. Moreover, in vivo boosting with carrier protein alone of rabbits which had been previously immunized with dinitrophenyl-protein conjugate resulted in increased production of antibodies with a specificity for the dinitrophenyl hapten. Analysis of the antibodies produced by the rabbits immunized with hapten-protein conjugates revealed that a certain proportion of them were directed towards "shared" determinants, i.e., determinants partially composed of the hapten group and partially of the protein carrier in the vicinity of hapten attachment. The carrier boosting effect observed in the in vitro and in vivo experiments appeared to be due to stimulation of cells producing antibodies with such "shared" determinants.

Footnotes

¹ This work was supported in part by agreement 06-010 with the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service, Bethesda, Maryland.

² Recipient of American Cancer Society post-doctoral fellowship PF-507. Present address: Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

³ Present address: Institute of Biomedical Investigations, University of Mexico, Mexico City.

⁴ Supported by a World Health Organization Fellowship. Present address: The Victor Babes Institute of Pathology and Medical Genetics, Bucharest, Rumania.

⁵ To whom correspondence should be addressed.