Molecular Immunogenicity of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide Antigens: Establishing a Quantitative System

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Abstract
Primary injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Escherichia coli sensitizes mice for a heightened immunologic response to a constant secondary dose of the same LPS. The lower dose limit for primary sensitization is a few tens of molecules and the height of the secondary response is proportional to the size of the dose of LPS over a 1012-fold range. Linear dose-response curves can also be established for the secondary injection of LPS, but over a much smaller range. A minimum of 10 to 14 days is required between injections of LPS to obtain consistently maximum titers, and the capacity of mice to give a secondary response is maintained for at least 12 weeks following the primary injection of LPS. The results suggest that this system provides a sufficiently sensitive and reproducible test for continuing studies on the molecular immunogenicity of LPS antigens.

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