Benzylpenicilloyl Specific Serum Antibodies to Penicillin in Man

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary: A convenient, reproducible, specific, and highly sensitive passive hemagglutination (HA) system for the detection of penicillin antibodies of benzylpenicilloyl (BPO) specificity in human and rabbit sera is described. Red blood cells were sensitized by coupling BPO groups to their surface membranes. The high sensitivity of the HA assay method is due to a) optimal sensitization of red blood cells by reaction with penicillin or benzylpenicillenic acid and b) the presence of dextran and normal serum in the serum diluent. The possible mechanisms whereby these factors increase the sensitivity of hemagglutination are discussed. The serum antibodies detected were shown to be specific mainly for the α-diastereoisomeric BPO group, but to be specific also for other diastereoisomeric BPO groups. There was a heterogeneity among individual IgM human sera with regard to the stereospecificity of BPO-specific antibodies Because of its haptenic specificity and high sensitivity, this method may be useful in various types of immunologic studies.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: