Open Access
STUDIES ON DELAYED HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE I. PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF PREFERENTIAL ANTIGENS FOR INDUCING DELAYED HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE
Author(s) -
Baba Mitsuo,
Harada Takayuki,
Morikawa Shigeru
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
acta patholigica japonica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 0001-6632
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1827.1977.tb01867.x
Subject(s) - antigen , delayed hypersensitivity , chemistry , spleen , macrophage , antibody , in vitro , serum albumin , fluorescein , albumin , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , bovine serum albumin , biochemistry , biology , fluorescence , physics , quantum mechanics
Variously modified protein antigens were tested by footpad assay to clarify the effect of these medications in producing delayed hypersensitivity in mice. The most potent antigen examined was carboxyl‐methylated serum albumins. These antigens were highly basic proteins and hydrophobic compared with native serum proteins. They stimulate humoral antibody response in mice poorly, and remain at the subcutaneous injection site much longer than native serum albumins. In vitro tests of susceptibility of thymus and spleen cells and peritoneal macrophages to the antigens revealed that methylated serum albumins possessed the stimulatory activity to the latter and were toxic to the former. As for macrophage, fluorescein‐labelled methylated serum albumin showed an affinity to their membrane and were phagocytosed, but FITC‐BSA did not show any affinity to the macrophages. These biological activities to tissue or cells may be contributable to render methylated serum albumins to induce and elicit delayed hypersensitivity preferentially in mice.