SPECIFIC INHIBITION OF ANTIBODY PRODUCTION .3. APPARENT CHANGES IN HALF-LIFE OF BOVINE GAMMA GLOBULIN IN PARALYSED MICE

Abstract

Mice injected with centrifuged ethanol-fractionated bovine gamma globulin become immunologically paralysed by the major component and immunized by the minor components. Several groups of paralysed mice showed a significantly prolonged half-life of labelled bovine gamma globulin when tnis was compared with previously untreated controls. It has been shown that this prolongation of the half-life is probably due to the major (persisting) component of bovine gamma globulin having a much longer half- life than the minor (immunizing) component(s), although a possible small alteration in the physiology of protein uptake from the circulation in paralysed animals, cannot be completely eliminated. The significance of this finding in relation to the amounts of antigen required to initiate and maintain immunological paralysis is discussed. A possible inter-relationship between paralysis induced by small amounts of antigen and paralysis induced by antigen overloading is mentioned briefly.