Abstract
Jusatz 1 reported that oral administration of vitamin A, B, C, or D is without appreciable effect on the bactericidal titer of the blood serum of rabbits or on specific-antibody production in this animal species. However, intravenous injection of a massive dose of vitamin C (sodium salt of ascorbic acid) increased the bactericidal index about two-fold and specific-precipitin production about fivefold. We have attempted to repeat his experiments with ascorbic acid and to extend his antibody-stimulating studies to include other enzyme-activators, other animal species and other types of antigens. The present paper summarizes our initial confirmatory results with ascorbic acid introduced parenterally into rabbits during the process of active immunization against horse-serum proteins.
A total of twenty 2000 gm. control rabbits were each injected intravenously with 0.5 cc. of horse serum. An equal number of rabbits of the same size and weight were each injected intravenously with 0.5 cc. of horse serum plus 100 mg. of crystalline synthetic ascorbic acid (Merck). Each injected animal was bled from the ear vein at frequent intervals during the next 50 days and the resulting antiserums were titrated for antihorse precipitins. Composite data from the two groups are recorded in Fig. 1.
Ascorbic acid plus horse-serum proteins caused a prompter formation of specific precipitins than occurred in the control group injected with undenatured horse serum. The antibody-stimulating ratio for ascorbic acid when thus used is about 30:1 during the earlier stages of active immunization, falling to about a 12:1 ratio during the height of active immunity (14-21 days). Specific pre-cipitins disappear from the control or non-vitaminized group by the fiftieth day, at which time the vitaminized group has a residual titer nearly equal to that of the control group at the height of active immunity.
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