The Antigenicity of Collagen

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Abstract
Summary: In rabbits receiving rabbit collagen coupled to diazotized sulfanilic acid and in others receiving commercial gelatin similarly treated, there were formed no precipitating or complement-fixing antibodies to the homologous antigens after intravenous or intraperitoneal injection. Normal human collagen, alone or coupled through benzidine with human serum globulin, did not give rise to demonstrable antibody formation in rabbits after intramuscular or intraperitoneal injection, even in the presence of the adjuvants of Freund and McDermott. In guinea pigs, following a single sensitizing injection, the same materials did not give rise to the symptoms of anaphylaxis upon intravenous injection. Rabbits injected with these materials showed no consistent, significant pathologic change. Complement fixation and precipitin tests of 19 sera of patients with lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, and acute rheumatic fever failed to demonstrate the presence of antibodies against normal human collagen. For purposes of purification, the collagen employed in these experiments was subjected to chemical and physical manipulations which may have affected adversely the demonstration of antigenicity.

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