Reaction of White Blood Cells to Specific Precipitate.

Abstract

When fresh citrated normal rabbit blood is mixed with the specific precipitate obtained by combination of antigen with antibody, the polymorphonuclears, the large mononuclears, and apparently, also the large lymphocytes become extensively vacuolated. The cells are often so crowded with vacuoles that they appear swollen and the nuclei are pushed to one side. Similar vacuolation though not so extensive, is also seen in the peripheral blood of a highly immune animal about 2 hours after intravenous injection of the specific protein. The reaction apparently occurs regardless of the antigenic protein used since it has been found with the specific precipitates of crystalline egg albumin, excelsin, human ascitic fluid, human seminal fluid, and horse hemoglobin. When the normal blood is mixed with the antigen only, a little vacuolation occurs occasionally in the mononuclear types of cells, the polymorphonuclears remaining entirely unaffected. No vacuolation occurs at all when the blood is mixed with the supernatant serum after removal of the specific precipitate by centrifugation. It is considered that the vacuoles probably do not represent degeneration processes because: (1) although the changes are best seen after 1 or 2 hours, they are well marked within 15 to 30 minutes; (2) the cell morphology remains distinct, the vacuoles clear-cut and the nucleus and cytoplasm retain their normal reactions to Wright's stain. It is suggested that these changes may be due to the phagocytosis of the specific precipitate.