Antibody Production by Hypogammaglobulinemic Patients

Abstract

Some properties of the viral neutralizing activity in the serums of hypogammaglobulinemic patients were studied. The neutralizing activity was sometimes detected by standard viral neutralization tests but was more often detected by extremely sensitive tests; neutralization of virus was time-dependent and was not reversed by dilution; the activity was stable at 56°C for 30 min; neutralizing activity was located almost exclusively in the 7S γ-globulin fraction of serum; poliovirus neutralizing activity appeared or was stimulated following inoculation of poliomyelitis vaccine; and the maximum neutralization titer observed, following strong antigenic stimulation, was very low. The neutralizing activity in the serums of “agammaglobulinemic” patients neutralized virus directly; was not reversed by dilution; and was heat stable. The results suggest that hypogammaglobulinemic and “agammaglobulinemic” patients are able to produce antibody to a variety of antigens but only in abnormally small amounts.