Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the fate of antigen-antibody complexes in animals, which depends on both the nature of the antigen involved and the immune state of the animal. The chapter deals only with complexes composed of soluble serum protein antigens and their specific antibodies, because a correlation between the in vivo behavior of complexes and their biological activity can be made only with these systems. The chapter examines the biological activity of antigen-antibody complexes and describes the effect of complement on the behavior of antigen-antibody complexes. The in vitro reaction of complement with antigen-antibody complexes results in a number of secondary phenomena such as lysis of sensitized erythrocytes, activation of proenzymes, production of anaphylatoxin, and precipitation of soluble antigen-antibody complexes. The role of complement in the biological reactions mediated by soluble antigen-antibody complexes is evaluated. It is shown that numerous pathological reactions occur as a result of the interaction between antigen and antibody both in vivo and in isolated tissue. The chapter demonstrates that certain soluble antigen-antibody complexes prepared with excess antigen produce anaphylaxis, smooth muscle contraction, lesions of serum sickness, and cutaneous reactions.
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