The Increased Antigenicity of Shigella Paradysenteriae (Flexner) in Saline-in-Mineral-Oil Emulsion

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Abstract
Summary: The antibody response to Shigella paradysenteriae Flexner vaccines in mice and rabbits may be strikingly prolonged and often elevated by suspension of the vaccine in a saline-in-mineral-oil emulsion. The effectiveness of the oil emulsion menstruum in mice does not seem to be related to the volume of the injected vaccine in the volume range tested, 0.075 to 0.6 ml of emulsion. The oil emulsion menstruum in mice seems to be active only above a critical dosage level of antigen. It is not capable of improving the response to subeffective doses of Shigella vaccines. Evidence has been presented which indicates that active Shigella antigen persists at the site of oil inoculation for at least as long as 22 weeks. It is felt that this is strong circumstantial evidence pointing to prolonged absorption as one of the important mechanisms (or the important mechanism) in the effectiveness of the oil emulsion. The presence of acid-fast bacilli in the oil emulsion is apparently not an important factor in the effectiveness of this menstruum insofar as the antibody response to S. paradysenteriae in mice is concerned.

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