On the relationships between agar-diffusion precipitin and gamma-globulin in the serum of rabbits infected with mycobacteria and immunized with dead mycobacteria

Abstract

In this study a comparison of agar-diffusion precipitin and γ-globulin in the serum of rabbits infected with mycobacterium and immunized with dead mycobacterium was carried out. The γ-globulin was tested by means of paper electrophoresis. The γ-globulin in the serum of immunized rabbits increased following higher ithmunization, and agar-diffusion precipitin gave positive results also, while globulin in the serum of rabbits inoculated with living mycobacterium increased during early infection, but agar-diffusion precipitin seemed to be produced later. The bands of precipitate made by the agar-diffusion precipitation test between the serum of rabbits infected with mycobacterium and the antigen derived from mammalian tubercle bacilli and atypical mycobacteriUm, indicated a confluency with the band which was produced by the reaction between the serum of rabbits immunized with dead mycobacterium and antigen mentioned above. Therefore, there is no doubt that the agar-diffusion precipitin in the rabbits sera infected with mycobacterium and sera immunized with dead mycobacterium is qualitatively equal, even though quantitatively somewhat different. Some rabbits injected intratesticularly with living human tubercle bacillus H37Rv showed a marked pathological change and an increase of γ-globulin and also a positive agar-diffusion reaction.