Urinary excretion of foreign antigens and RNA following primary and secondary injections of antigens

Abstract

The following investigation was divided into two parts. The first was concerned with the rate and amount of excretion of soluble ^(35)S-labeled hemocyanin (KLH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) following a single intravenous injection into normal rabbits and also with the properties of the excreted antigen material and its possible association with ribonucleic acid (RNA) or nucleotides. The second involved the release and excretion of ^(35)S-labeled material which remained in tissues, or extravascular spaces, at 7 days following the primary injection. This release was accomplished by injection of the unlabeled native protein antigen as described previously by Garvey and Campbell (1). In a recent report by Garvey and Campbell (2) the loss of antigen material from hepatic tissue following a secondary injection of the native protein carrier was clearly demonstrated by radioautography. Although much of the released material was taken up by spleen and lymph nodes, some of it escaped through the kidneys. It should be pointed out that the radioautographic studies did not bear out the speculation presented by Campbell and Garvey (3, 4) that release of primary antigen resulted in uptake by adjacent hepatic cells and thus production of a "clone." However it is possible that clones of cells might be formed in lymphoid tissues by such a mechanism of release and transfer of antigen. The level may be too low for detection but still significant with respect to antibody formation. It was expected that the present study of excreted material would give further information as to the nature of retained antigen and also provide material for future investigation of the biological properties of the released material.

Files

Additional details