A Non--specific Brucella Agglutinating Substance in Bovine Serum,

Abstract

A non-specific agglutinating substance was detected in bovine sera by means of a filter paper chro-matogram of the ascending type using a phthalate buffer (0.05[image], pH 6.2) as a developer and a hematoxylin-stained Brucella antigen to locate the agglutinins on the strip. The non-specific substance remained adsorbed at the spot where the serum was placed while specific agglutinins migrated with the solvent. The substance appeared to account for 64% of the suspicious agglutinin reactions in animals from otherwise negative herds while it accounted for less than 5% of the suspicious titers in herds also containing reactors. A similar substance was found in human and swine sera. Judging from its physico-chemical properties, the material was not related to agglutinins arising from a specific antigenic stimulus of the classical type.