Summary
In experiments undertaken to prepare stable, non-anticomplementary leptospiral antigens (type-specific as well as group-diagnostic) for use in the complement-fixation reaction, the following results were secured:
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1. Simple boiling of the crude leptospiral cultures in their Korthof medium removes the anticomplementary activity and reduces the finding of prozones in tests made with an excess of homologous antiserum.
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2. The type-specific leptospiral antigen is soluble in 50% acetone but is precipitated by 66% or higher concentrations of acetone.
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3. The type-specific antigen can be concentrated in its activity as determined by the least amount of antigen to give a reaction; in some instances the improvement is as high as 32-fold. Yet these preparations are less sensitive with respect to the least amount of antiserum to give a reaction.
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4. The anticomplementary activity of unboiled cultures is not removed by treatment with either ethanol or acetone.
The acetone-precipitated antigens seem to be closely related to or identical with the soluble antigen described by Ezell et al. and by Pike et al.
The findings seem to favor the use of crude boiled cultures as type-specific antigens in routine work, while a mixture of the less sensitive acetone-precipitated and concentrated antigens seems to be more promising for service as group-diagnostic antigenic preparation for screening purposes.
- Received October 25, 1955.
- Copyright © 1956 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
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