Suppression of the IgE Antibody Response in Mice to Kentucky Blue Grass Pollen Allergens

Abstract

Reagins in murine strains A/HeJ RF/J C3H/HeJ and B6D2FJ were induced by immunization, in the presence of Al(OH)₃, with the retentate (R) obtained by dialysis from the aqueous extract of Kentucky blue grass pollen (KBG-Aq. ext.). Administration of doses of R ranging from 50–200 μg resulted in IgE antibody responses which were sustained for periods of the order of 6 months. The possibility of suppressing the anti-R IgE antibody response in sensitized A/HeJ mice was tested by the administration into these animals for a period of 14 weeks, biweekly injections of a skin-active, immunogenic fraction (DI) isolated from the dialysate of KBG-Aq. ext. This treatment effectively suppressed the secondary IgE antibody response to R and markedly increased levels of hemagglutinating antibodies. On the basis of the fact that DI comprised only 1.5% of the parent fraction KBG-Aq. ext. and since it was capable of modulating the immune response to R as described, it is suggested that DI may prove to be a useful agent for the immunotherapy of allergies to KBG pollen.