Stability of Sensitizing and “Blocking” Antibodies in Allergic Serum Following Ultraviolet Irradiation

[摘要] The effect of ultraviolet rays on the potency of reagins has been judged by the results of serum-neutralization and of serum-dilution in normal human skin. Involved in the study were 6 samples of reagin-bearing serum donated by 3 adults who were allergic to one or more inhalant allergens (ragweed pollen, timothy grass pollen, horse epidermis, dog epidermis and cottonseed). The sera were examined over a long period, ranging from a few days to 2 years or more. Normal recipients of sensitizing mixtures or serum dilutions were restricted to 8 in number, so as to minimize the influence of the individual on the outcome. Thirty sets of experiments were done, each involving some 40 sensitizations.Comparisons drawn between the light-treated and control portions of the same serum at the conclusion of each experiment revealed that no significant damage had been done by the rays in 17 instances whereas a slight reduction in sensitizing power may have resulted in 4, when the neutralization procedure was employed for the test. With the serum-dilution technic, no difference could be found between untreated and treated portions in 22 trials, a suggestion of lowered potency being noted in 2 experiments. The overall conclusion is that any adverse influence of ultraviolet light on sensitizing antibodies is so slight and infrequently encountered as to be of no practical significance.In the case of the blocking, heat-stable antibody, limited observations on one timothy-immune serum indicated no loss of antigen-binding power during several experiments on 3 subjects.The stability evidenced by the reagin, and presumably also the thermostable or blocking antibody, is consistent with the experience of numerous earlier investigators who showed that ultraviolet rays could be employed to inactivate bacteria and viruses (5–8) in the apparatus of either Oppenheimer-Levinson (2) or of Habel-Sockrider (9) without impairment of their immunizing qualities. Blanchard and associates (10) advocated irradiation as a means of protection against homologous serum hepatitis. The procedure has since been adopted by the National Institutes of Health (1) as a minimum requirement for pooled plasma which is destined for use in man. There are no reports in the literature on its application to sera which are to be appraised by tests of the Prausnitz-Küstner variety.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）