Some pathologic aspects of allergy: Paul R. Cannon, M.D., Chicago, Ill. (Abstract)

Abstract

Monkeys immunized with human serum without adjuvant developed high titers of skin reactivity but no precipitins. When skin sensitivity to serum developed, most of the animals failed to accept reagins. The nonacceptors had antibodies which combined with human serum to form antigen-antibody skin-reacting complexes, blocked reagin attachment, produced reverse passive transfer reactions in sites preinjected with human serum, and gave histamine release from human leukocytes or normal monkey leukocytes pretreated with human serum. Passive transfer of these antibodies to normal monkeys was questionable. Such actively immunized monkeys had no greater skin reaction than normal monkeys with myeloma IgE. Serum from sensitized monkeys which still accepted reagins did not disclose similar antibodies. Monkeys immunized with myeloma IgE in complete Freund's adjuvant produced good precipitin titers, no immediate but delayed Arthus-type skin reactions, and they lost their ability to accept reagins. These findings indicate that loss of reagin acceptance is probably due to sensitivity to IgE, that the antibody to human IgE in the monkey is probably not in monkey IgE, and that myeloma IgE and normal human IgE may possess some dissimilar as well as common determinants.