Presence of Antigen—a Factor determining the Duration of Antibody Formation by Transferred Cells

Abstract

IN experiments on antibody formation by isolated spleen cells after transfer to new-born rabbits¹ and newly hatched chicks and embryos² it has been found that the ability to form antibodies is limited in time, this being due to the reaction of the recipient to the transferred cells³. If spleen cells only were transferred to new-born rabbits and then antigen administered at different time intervals, it was demonstrated that only during the first 4 days after cell injection did the administered antigen regularly evoke antibody formation. Injection of antigen on the fifth day gave positive results only occasionally, and administration of antigen after the seventh day did not result in production of antibodies by transferred cells.