Effect of Massive Antigen Dosage on Antigen Retention and Antibody Response in Rabbits.

Abstract

Data obtained by injection of massive doses of bovine albumin into rabbits suggests that the breakdown and/or removal of an antigen from an antibody-forming site is a necessary prerequisite to antibody formation. Antigen elimination rates for massive doses of bovine albumin from the circulation of rabbits were resolved into 2 relative groups: (a) those animals eliminating the antigen rapidly and (b) those retaining residual antigen for an extended period. All antibody-forming sites were assumed to be saturated with this antigen and in the latter group antibody formation was suppressed. The rates of elimination of antigen from the various organs of the host are discussed in relation to postulated mechanisms concerned with serum sickness and the late sequelae of streptococcal infections.