The Placental Transmission of Foreign Proteins in Rabbits

[摘要] Introduction. That antibodies may be transmitted from mother to fetus by way of the placenta has been demonstrated in a number of species (1). As to soluble antigens in this same respect, there is little definite evidence in the literature. Yet the answer to the implied question has more than purely academic significance. That it may have a bearing not only upon the problem of hypersusceptibility of the young but also upon that of racial immunity, of variation in individual resistance, and possibly even upon the more general problem of apparent hereditary transmission of acquired characteristics, must be apparent. Against such a background of inquiry and in ignorance of any work touching directly upon the question, the author some years ago began the experiments out of which the present paper has grown.In the meantime a more thorough search of the literature and the contemporaneous work of Ratner and his associates have yielded other evidence for the placental transmission of foreign proteins.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）