The Role of Soluble Aggregates in the Primary Immune Response of Mice to Human Gamma Globulin

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Abstract
Mice injected with varying amounts of aggregated human gamma-globulin (HGG) showed much greater primary antibody formation than mice given aggregate-free or untreated (''native'') HGG. Increased antibody production was shown to be specifically related to the amount of aggregated antigen given and not to the total amount of antigen injected. 55% of mice given aggregate-free gamma-globulin failed to make any detectable immune response and the remainder responded only very poorly. Soluble aggregates of gamma-globulin are highly immunogenic in mice and that aggregate-free gamma-globulin by itself is not antigenic. The injection of optimal amounts of aggregated gamma-globulin also resulted in a marked uniformity of antibody response and indicates that the use of aggregated globulins offers a simple method of obtaining clear cut primary antibody responses of excellent quality in mice. The marked antigenicity of aggregated gamma-globulin appears to be related to rapid phagocytosis and catabolism of the aggregated antigen.