ANTIGENICITY OF RAT COLLAGEN

Abstract

Antibody to rat collagen, prepared in rabbits and injected into rats, becomes fixed to its antigen and can be identified in tissue sections by its fluorescence after application of fluorescein-conjugated anti-rabbit globulin. In heart, lung, liver, spleen, adrenal, kidney, jejunum, lymph node, thymus, joint synovia, peripheral nerve, aorta, skeletal muscle, eye, and brain, the antibody was found at all sites where collagen and reticulin are normally present, but not within cells. Purified reconstituted collagen fibers, treated in vitro, showed the same fluorescence as fibers in the tissues. Appropriate controls verified the specificity of the immunologic reactions. These findings indicate that collagen and reticulin have a common antigen.