The Immunological Characteristics of the Poliocidal Substance in Human Serum

[摘要] The property of serum to inactivate the virus of poliomyelitis in vitro , as is generally known, was first discovered with the blood of monkeys and man after recovery from the experimental or spontaneous disease. It is only comparatively recent that similar neutralizing substances have been found, seemingly in the same or even greater quantities, in the serum of a majority of normal adults who give no clinical history of previous attacks of infantile paralysis.The question as to the nature and origin of this virucidal function of the normal human serum has continued to engage the attention of investigators during the last few years. It is obvious that neutralizing substances which make their appearance in the serum after immunization with the virus or following recovery from the disease, should be regarded as typical antibodies in the classical sense of the word. This, however, does not necessarily prove that similar substances in the normal serum must have originated by contact with the specific antigen.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）