The adsorption of antigen by spleen cells previously treated with antiserum in vitro

Abstract

Rabbit spleen cells, which have been treated in vitro with certain rabbit or guinea-pig antisera (e.g. against human serum albumin) and washed, are capable of specifically adsorbing radio-isotope labelled antigen. The antibody responsible for this effect appears to be distinct from the main precipitating antibody in the serum and the term `cytophilic antibody' has been suggested. The activity of the cytophilic antibody is not destroyed by heating at 56° C. for half an hour.

The cytophilic antibody is not adsorbed by red cells. Spleen cells which have been treated with methanol before treatment with antiserum take up less antigen than non-methanol-treated cells tested in the same way. However, the addition of fresh normal spleen cells to the methanol-antibody-treated cells before the addition of antigen increased the uptake of the latter.