Immunologic Tolerance to Sulfanilic Acid Assessed by the Hapten-Specific Hemolytic Plaque Technique

[摘要] Employment of the hapten-specific hemolytic plaque technique for direct assay of lymphoid cells from rabbits tolerant to para-azo-benzenesulfonic acid-bovine serum albumin has provided evidence on the limiting numbers of antibody-releasing cells present within the spleens of these animals. Assay of cells producing high hemolytic efficiency (19 S) antibody against sulfanilic acid averaged no more than 44 cells per spleen for challenged tolerant rabbits as compared with mean splenic responses of 21,000 in littermate controls. The splenic average of 49 specific immune cells releasing low hemolytic efficiency (7 S) antibody in tolerant rabbits did not differ significantly from impartial 7 S reference control plaques in the same rabbits. These findings contrasted with splenic responses averaging 22,000 7 S releasing cells in control littermates. These direct observations at the cellular level were in close agreement with assays of hapten-specific serum hemolysins and hemagglutins and with titrations of serum antigen-binding capacity against bovine serum albumin. Although the presence of very limited numbers of specific 19 S antibody-forming cells cannot be categorically excluded in these tolerant rabbits, the data indicate the probable absence of specific 7 S-releasing cells and are consistent with the view that classic neonatal tolerance represents a specific and essentially complete central failure of cellular antibody formation.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）