RECALL OF TYPE SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES IN MAN BY INJECTIONS OF STREPTOCOCCAL CELL WALLS*

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Abstract
Cell walls of type 12 and type 5 streptococci were tested for antigenicity in human beings with and without previously documented infections of homologous type. Minute doses of M protein present in streptococcal cell wall vaccines were shown to be capable of producing a secondary type specific immune response in human beings when administered in 3 or 4 weekly, well tolerated, subcutaneous or intradermal doses. Type specific antibodies were boosted or recalled in all patients who previously had had unmistakable primary immune responses to natural infections but whose serum titers had subsequently declined to low levels or disappeared. Secondary responses to vaccination also were elicited readily when antecedent infections had been followed by the appearance of only traces of serum antibody, and in some instances, when no circulating antibody had been detected. Type 12 antibody responses to cell wall vaccine were elicited in 7 of 14 patients who had no prior history of infection with this type and whose pre-immunization sera contained either no detectable antibody or only traces thereof. The implications of these findings with regard to primary artificial immunization against group A streptococci, and the application of booster vaccination as a method for determining previous infection with a given streptococcal serotype are discussed.