Localizing Properties of Anti-Placenta Serum

Abstract

Antisera prepared against placenta are known to be cytotoxic (1–5). Dobrowolski (1) in 1903 showed that specific anti-placenta sera interrupted pregnancy in guinea pigs and rabbits. Seegal et al. (2–3) found that antisera prepared in rabbits against rat placenta when injected into rats cause interruption of pregnancy and also nephritis. Rabbit anti-dog-placenta serum produced nephritis in dogs but not abortion (4–5). Assuming that cytotoxic antibodies must localize in the tissue affected, one would expect accumulation of anti-placenta antibody in the kidney and placenta of rats injected with antiplacenta antiserum. Therefore, we made a study in pregnant and nonpregnant rats of the localizing properties of a known cytotoxic rabbit anti-rat-placenta sera and the results are reported here. We also compared the localization of antibodies from anti-rat-kidney serum with those of anti-placenta serum. It was found that the anti-placenta serum and the anti-kidney serum each contained antibodies capable of localizing in both the kidneys and the placenta.