Transfer of delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity with transfer factor

Abstract

The effect of dialyzable transfer factor from 16 donors on transfer of delayed skin reactivity was studied in 20 patients with cellular immunodeficiency syndromes. Successful transfer of delayed hypersensitivity was achieved in 50 of the 89 opportunities. There were three additional instances in which recipients became reactive to antigens to which the donors were unresponsive. Four patients received multiple injections of transfer factor from donors who were unresponsive to candida; in no instance did a recipient become reactive to candida, although three became reactive to other donor-responsive antigens. The data also showed that conversions of skin responses by recipients occurred as independent events and not in all-or-none manner. The results of this investigation are interpreted as being compatible with antigen-specific activities in dialyzable transfer factor.