A study of the effects of anti-macrophage sera

Abstract

Anti-guinea-pig and anti-mouse macrophage sera were prepared by immunizing rabbits with peritoneal cells which had been purified by short culture. Such sera caused agglutination and lysis of macrophages in vitro, as well as ⁵¹Cr release, which showed some specificity for macrophages when compared with lymph node lymphocytes. Intravenous administration of anti-macrophage serum to guinea-pigs caused impairment of carbon clearance. Mice given anti-macrophage serum and immunized with sheep erythrocytes showed a normal plaque formation response. In guinea-pigs, local injection of anti-macrophage serum followed by immunization gave rise to a decreased delayed hypersensitivity response, but anti-lymphocyte serum, and to some extent anti-kidney serum, also caused a diminution.