PHAGOCYTOSIS OF THE ANTIGEN, A CRUCIAL STEP IN THE INDUCTION OF THE PRIMARY RESPONSE

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Abstract
I131-labeled bovine serum albumin [BSA] was cleared of phagocytizable particles by injection into normal adult rabbits. The serum of these animals, containing the biologically "filtered" antigen, was injected into 9 adult rabbits, and 7 control animals were given the same amount of "unfiltered" labeled BSA. According to the disappearance of the label from the circulating blood, all controls started antibody production before days 7-12, while 5 of the 9 tests animals failed to show immune elimination and 2 of these became tolerant to BSA. These results are interpreted as demonstrating anew the importance of phagocytosis for induction of an immune response. In adult mice, a relatively low dose of BSA (0.1 mg), whether "filtered" or not, was found to impair the response to immunization 4 days later.