Production of Local Skin Reactivity by Passive Transfer of Anti-Protein Sera

Abstract

As reported recently, the serum of guinea pigs rendered hypersensitive to certain chemicals contains antibodies which can transfer to the skin of normal guinea pigs reactivity towards the chemical and towards protein conjugates of the ineitant. 1 Sera prepared against proteins have been tested in analogous manner with the idea that the principle might be of wider applicability. This is actually the case. Positive results were first seen with serum from guinea pigs injected repeatedly in the skin with horse serum (0.1 cc of 1:5 dilution in saline); more active sera were frequently secured by a method devised by Dr. Jules Freund as having a substantial adjuvant effect with several antigenic materials, 2 namely, injection under the skin of an emulsion of horse serum, Aquaphor, and killed tubercle bacilli in paraffin oil, the animals being bled 4 or preferably 6 weeks or longer afterwards. When skin sites were prepared in the manner of a Prausnitz-Küstner transfer with 0.15 to 0.05 cc of selected sera, and after an interval of 10 hours to several days the corresponding antigen was injected into the sensitized sites, or subcutaneously at a distance, the skin over and contiguous to these sites gave specific reactions of the early type with distinct erythema and oedema (Table I), as described for the drug hypersensitivity sera. 1

With a given serum, the extent of the reaction varies markedly with the particular recipient. Thus the reaction of recipient A although typical in its course was in its extent characteristic of the best acceptors; on the average, diameters of 2.5 to 3 cm were attained. The erythema mostly recedes in less than an hour, while the oedema continues to increase for a time before slowly regressing.