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The Individual as a Factor in Antidiphtheria Immunity

I. Antitoxic Responses of Groups of Guinea Pigs

From the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology of Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, and the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology of Cornell University Medical College, New York

Abstract

The experiments dealt with the influence of different methods of immunization upon the antitoxic response of groups of guinea pigs. The points investigated included the condition of the antigen, the total amount of antigen, the division and spacing of doses and the route of injection.

The adequacy of the different methods for group immunization was analyzed on the basis of the percentage of individuals made Schick negative. The total amount of antigen influenced the immunity response but to different extents in different zones of dosage: its influence was masked in the zone of "hyperimmunization," but within the zone "adequate for group immunization" it was manifested in speed of response, and within the zone "inadequate for group immunization" both in speed of response and in percentage of a group finally made immune. However, the amount of antigen could be counterbalanced by other factors: to some extent by the route of injection but especially by the division and spacing of injections.

The results are discussed in terms of the expression: A = f(C x S) in which A represents antitoxin production, C, the capacity to respond to specific stimulus and S, the stimulus of the specific antigen. In the present paper this formula was used in the analysis of the development of immunity; in later papers it will be modified for the analysis of immunity possessed long after the last injection of antigen.