Immune Degradation in Passively Sensitized Mice

[摘要] The rate of antigen degradation in passively sensitized mice is dependent on the species of animal in which the antiserum was made. Using guinea pig antiserum, it was found that some of the antigen was degraded at an accelerated rate while some was retained and degraded at a slower rate than antigen alone. The retained antigen was complexed in circulation with guinea pig γ-globulin. Two different rabbit antisera were tested. Mice injected with one antiserum retained antigen; mice injected with the other antiserum degraded antigen at the control rate after an initial phase of accelerated degradation. With mouse antiserum antigen was always degraded at an accelerated rate. Various explanations of these results are discussed. The data suggest that retention and accelerated degradation are a consequence of the existence of two different types of antibody.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）