Open AccessStudies on the nature of the immunity reaction.—II. A comparison of the antigenic properties of sensitised and raw pneumococcal vaccines
Author(s) -
Richard R. Armstrong
Publication year - 1925
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series b, containing papers of a biological character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9185
pISSN - 0950-1193
DOI - 10.1098/rspb.1925.0058
Subject(s) - phagocytosis , immunity , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , antigen , bacteria , biology , immune system , genetics
The opinion is current that “ Sensitised Vaccines,” prepared by saturating living or dead bacteria with the homologous immunising serum, afford a convenient means of administering protective anti-bodies. The use of such vaccines, in moderate doses, is apparently unattended by any harmful local or general reaction. Two hypotheses have been formulated to explain the mechanism of their action. Besredka (1) and also Gordon (2) lay stress on the fact that sensitisation accelerates the ingestion of bacteria by phagocytes and their consequent intra-cellular digestion ; as a result, endotoxin is liberated and an anti-endotoxin rapidly produced by the phagocytes. Active immunity is thus attained more swiftly than when a raw vaccine, relatively resistant to phagocytosis, is administered.