Studies on the Bacteriophage Neutralizing Activity of Serums

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary: The assays for phage neutralizing activity (PNA) of normal serum presently in use measure total serum activity. These methods do not measure the activity of the individual serum components, normal Ab and C′, which are required for PNA. Therefore, an assay was developed to measure these two serum components separately. The technique involves three steps: a) the sensitization of phage with normal Ab; b) the dilution of inhibitory substances in the normal Ab source; and c) the action of C′ to complete neutralization. In the development of this assay, it was found that normal Ab is capable of combining with phage in the absence of C′, but phage particles thus sensitized are not neutralized until they are subjected to the action of C′. Other results indicated that Ab activity in normal serums was unaffected by heating for 1 hr at 56°C so that the loss of PNA by heating is related primarily to the thermal instability of C′. The inhibition of serum PNA by endotoxin was also studied. In the presence of endotoxin, normal Ab sensitizes phage, but C′ was nonspecifically inhibited. Finally, studies of normal Ab and C′ from different animal species demonstrated varying degrees of compatibility.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: