Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Publication Date

1-22-1970

Abstract

It is well known that passive antibody will specifically suppress an immune response to the corresponding antigen. The goal of this study was to determine if passive antibody had any effect on the development of immunological memory. The nature of the immune response to a second injection of sheep red blood cells (SRBC) following a primary immune response suppressed by passive antibody was investigated. C57Bl/Ks mice received a primary injection of SRBC and homologous anti-SRBC serum; 14 days later they were challenged with a second injection of SRBC. The immune response was evaluated by determining the number of cells synthesizing 19S or 7S anti-SRBC appearing in the spleens at intervals after immunization. A quantitatively low response which qualitatively resembled a normal secondary response was observed. This response could not be duplicated in normal mice by priming with lower doses of antigen, suggesting that simple antigen clearance is not the sole mechanism in antibody mediated suppression of the immune response. Increasing the interval between the primary and secondary injections in passively immunized mice resulted in secondary responses which approached those in normal mice. These results indicate that priming for a secondary response (development of memory cells) does take place during a suppressed primary response and that the low secondary response observed was due to the suppressive action of passive antibody remaining from the primary injection. To test the possibility that antibody might prevent full expression of the secondary immune response, the immunological responses of spleen cells were therefore tested in the antibody-free environment of a cell culture system. The immunological responsiveness of spleen cells from normal mice, from mice injected with anti-SRBC, from mice primed with SRBC only, and from mice give anti-SRBC and SRBC was examined in cell culture. Spleen cells from normal mice and from passively immunized mice responded with equal in vitro primary responses to SRBC, showing that the suppressive effects of antibody can be washed from the cells. Spleen cells from suppressed mice produced a secondary response in vitro equal to that seen in cultures of primed spleen cells. These results have shown chat priming for a secondary response is in no way inhibited although passive antibody has suppressed the synthesis of antibody during the primary response.

Sponsors

U.S.P.H.S. Grant 5 R01 CA 10129, U.S.P.H.S. Predoctoral Research Fellowship 5 F01 GM 35,862

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Biomedical Sciences

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program

First Committee Member (Chair)

Sei Tokuda

Second Committee Member

Thomas Irving Baker

Third Committee Member

Francis Newton Lebaron

Fourth Committee Member

Robert Edwin Anderson

Fifth Committee Member

Joseph Victor Scaletti

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