On the question of immunization against transplantable cancer by injection of an animal's own tissues

Abstract

That the injection of a suitable quantity of homologous tissue induces in susceptible mice a certain degree of resistance to the inoculation of their transplantable cancers is a well-established fact. There appeared recently a paper by Woglom 1 in which experiments were described showing that autogenous tissue (spleen) injected subcutaneously was also capable of inducing this immunity. Woglom's work has been questioned by Apolant 2 who repeated the experiments with negative results. Apolant maintains further that the spleen of a mouse does not afford sufficient tissue for immunization, and that the question as to the possibility of immunizing with an animal's own tissues is still an open one.

In the experiments herewith reported, blood has been used as the immunizing agent. The quantity of defibrinated blood necessary for immunizing young mice was shown by Bashford to be about .3 c.c. In order to eliminate, however, the possibility of insufficient dosage, it was considered desirable to use at least .5 c.c. As Woglom stated in his paper, mice cannot be bled this amount plus the loss attending the bleeding without causing death. Interval bleedings from the jugulars were therefore resorted to. In nearly all of the experiments two bleedings only, on successive days, were necessary. About ten drops of blood in citrate solution were taken each time. The corpuscles were preserved in the ice box and injected subcutaneously on the day after the last bleeding. Ten mice were treated in this way: ten controls were injected with a similar quantity of homologous blood; ten normal mice were set aside as controls on the two treated groups. The mice were all young and thrifty; average weight, 18 grams. The three series were inoculated with carcinoma ten days later.