Dependence of the chemical nature of antibodies on the net electrical charge of antigens.

Abstract

A straightforward correlation has been obtained between the net electrical charge on a variety of natural and synthetic antigens and the type of antibody they elicited in rabbits. Antibodies to acidic antigens were found predominantly in the 1st chromatographic fraction on DEAE-Sephadex, whereas antibodies to basic antigens were mostly in the 2nd fraction. Antibodies with specificity toward the same determinant (the dinitrophenyl group) belonged exclusively to either one or the other of the 2 immunoglobulin fractions, depending on the electrical charge of the macromolecular carrier to which the determinant was attached. The biosynthesis of an antibody is controlled both by the specificity determinants and by other parts of the antigenic molecule.