The Passage of Antipneumococcal Antibodies Into Pleural Exudates in Rabbits—A Comparison of the Penetration of the Pleura by Horse and Rabbit Sera

[摘要] In their report on the superior effectiveness of rabbit antipneumococcal serum in treating pneumococcal pneumonia Horsfall and Goodner (1) suggested that serous membranes might be more permeable to rabbit- than to horse-antibody. The antibody-molecule in horse serum is about 44 mµ in diameter, whereas, the rabbit-serum molecule is only 11 mµ (2). Under certain circumstances, as in long-continued immunization, however, even horse serum may contain smaller antibody-molecules, as was shown recently by Kabat (3). Horsfall and Goodner based their assumption concerning the permeability of the serous membranes not only on these observations but also on a report by Sabin (4) who was unable to demonstrate the passage of horse-serum antibodies from the blood into the empyema-cavities in four patients who had received fairly large quantities of anti-pneumococcal horse serum intravenously. Horsfall and Goodner, on the other hand, stated that they were able to demonstrate the presence of rabbit serum ( i.e. , antibodies) in the empyema-fluid of two patients who had been treated with rabbit serum.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）