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NON‐SPECIFIC CHANGES IN THE OPSONIC POWER OF RABBIT SERUM PRODUCED PHYSICALLY THROUGH THE INTRAVASCULAR INJECTION OF FOREIGN PARTICLES IN SUSPENSION
Author(s) -
Elvidge A. R.
Publication year - 1930
Publication title -
quarterly journal of experimental physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0370-2901
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.1930.sp000495
Subject(s) - opsonin , rabbit (cipher) , mononuclear phagocyte system , blood serum , in vitro , chemistry , macrophage , staphylococcus aureus , immunology , phagocytosis , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , biology , endocrinology , biochemistry , bacteria , statistics , mathematics , genetics
The intravenous administration of (chemically inert) quartz suspensions causes a physico‐chemical alteration in the white‐cell plasma relations due to non‐specific changes produced physically in the rabbit's blood serum, which results in a profound decrease in the ability of the polymorphs to phagocyte Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus in vitro in the presence of their own serum. If serum from a normal rabbit is substituted, the cells again become able to phagocyte. If cells from a normal rabbit are incubated with the “treated” rabbit's serum, they tend to lose their phagocytic ability. The phenomenon is due to a lack of some substance, “opsonin,” from the serum of the treated animal. This lack can be compensated for by the addition of a normal control serum. It has been found possible to vary experimentally by a physical method the “opsonic” content of the blood serum of a rabbit without the use of vaccines. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Professor John Tait for much helpful criticism in preparing this paper for press.