The Antigenic Properties of Globin, with a Note on the Independence of the Properties of Serum and Tissue Proteins, as Exemplified by the Absence of Antibody from the Globin of an Immunised Animal

Abstract

Summary: Globin can act as an antigen. In addition to two antisera for guinea-pig's globin, two antisera for ox globin have also been obtained from rabbits. With these antisera and a number of different specimens of the homologous globins powerful complement-fixation reactions have been obtained. The obtaining of the reaction depends on suitable quantitative relationships between antigen and antibody and also, as was shown previously, on a suitable hydrogen-ion concentration. Only certain rabbits apparently respond to injections of globin by the production of complement-fixing antibodies. The injections of globin caused no obvious toxic effects in rabbits. Hemoglobin seems to elicit antibody production more rarely. The reactions with antisera show, in certain cases, marked species-specificity of globin; thus the antiserum to guinea-pig's globin does not fix complement with ox globin. On the other hand, anti-ox globin fixes complement along with goat, duck and guinea-pig globin but not with rabbit globin; no explanation is offered of the contradictory behavior of ox and guinea-pig globins in the crossed experiments. But the results taken together seem to exclude bacterial contamination as the cause. The evidence points to the phenomena being due to a genuine antibody to globin and not to adventitious protein contamination. Further recorded facts (namely, that anti-guinea-pig globin does not contain hemolytic immune body for guineapig corpuscles and does not react with guinea-pig's hemoglobin, serum or acid serum-albumin, and that guinea-pig globin does not react with antihuman serum) also exclude the probable contaminations which might arise in the course of preparation of the globin solutions.