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Studies on the Induction, Specificity, Prevention and Breaking of Immunologic Paralysis and Immunity to Pneumococcal Polysaccharide¹

From the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Abstract

Immunologic paralysis against the soluble specific substance of type III Diplococcus pneumoniae (SIII) has been studied using an in vitro technique for determining antibodies and a specific depolymerase (D3) for removing persistent antigen from the circulation.

When mice were injected with small quantities of SIII, circulating antibodies were detectable 48 hr later and the titers persisted for several months. Subsequent injection of the homologous antigen gave a booster response.

Mice could be paralyzed after the onset of immunity by the injection of relatively large quantities of antigen. On the other hand, once paralysis is induced it is long-lasting, and paralyzed mice cannot be immunized by subsequent injections of immunogenic doses of the homologous antigen.

Paralysis is type specific: mice paralyzed against SIII can be immunized against SVIII and mice paralyzed against SVIII can be immunized against SIII.

Attempts to prevent paralysis by the injection of spleen cells or peritoneal exudates from mice of the same strain, together with the antigen, were unsuccessful. Attempts to break paralysis by injection of the homologous vaccine in Freund's adjuvant, by vaccine alone or by irradiation were also unsuccessful.

Footnotes

¹ This work was supported by Grant CA-05175 from the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service.