THE PRODUCTION OF IMMUNO-CONGLUTININ: VII. THE EFFECT OF CORTISONE TREATMENT ON THE STIMULATION OF IMMUNO-CONGLUTININ PRODUCTION

Abstract

Daily injections of cortisone into rabbits does not suppress immuno-conglutinin production in response to heterostimulation. Cortisone treatment of normal rabbits causes a decrease in the serum level of conglutinating activity. In autostimulation experiments, no significant increase in the level of the conglutinating activity of the serum could be detected in cortisone-treated rabbits but these animals maintained the level of conglutinating activity better than the cortisone-treated rabbits which were not stimulated antigenically. Some of the possible explanations for these findings are discussed.