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Immunological Reactions in Poliomyelitis¹

From the Department of Bacteriology and Experimental Pathology, Stanford University, California

Abstract

In this report descriptions are given of experiments in which a series of immunological methods, most of which have not been previously employed, were turned to the problem of eliciting a specific reaction based on an antibody or antigen derived from poliomyelitis-infected or convalescent animals. There has been no evidence of a direct reaction between concentrated viral preparations and neutralizing antibody obtained from human beings, monkeys or the horse. The technics employed to demonstrate such a reaction have included anaphylaxis in the guinea pig, the use of guinea pig and monkey uterine strips, cutaneous tests in monkeys and precipitative and complement-fixation reactions.

There has been no indication that the spinal cord of infected monkeys shows any chemical alteration as the result of infection which might lead to auto-antibody formation, nor is there a change in antigenicity of such cords which may be demonstrated by cross reaction with sera produced in rabbits against infected and normal cord-elements.

The cords, cerebrospinal fluid and blood of paralyzed monkeys possess no element capable of inducing a Shwartzman reaction in the skin or brain of rabbits, distinguishable from those produced by similar normal preparations.

The neutralizing sera from human beings, monkeys or a horse possess no heterogenetic antibodies capable of reacting with any of the erythrocytes of fourteen different animal species tested.

When these results are added to the previous unsuccessful efforts to demonstrate specific precipitin, complement-fixation and cutaneous reactions, and to those experiments which have eliminated the possibility of the occurrence of a specific soluble antigen during the acute phase of the disease (discussed in the introduction), it appears that aside from the neutralization test, the hope for a specific immunologic reaction for poliomyelitis is somewhat remote.

Footnotes

¹ Aided by a grant from the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, Inc.