Elimination of Bovine Serum Albumin in Acute Experimental Uræmia

Abstract

IN patients suffering from acute or chronic uræmia the production of classical antibodies has been shown to be within normal limits^1–4. The Mantoux test may be positive in chronically uræmic humans, implying that the formation of certain intra-cellular antibodies is also maintained. However, skin homografts survive for prolonged periods in the uræmic human^1,2, indicating that the onset of transplantation immunity is delayed. Medawar⁵ has stated that the instruments of transplantation immunity are antibodies bound to cells of the lymphoid series and not serum antibodies. Skin homografts also survive for extended periods in uræmic rabbits⁶, and this has been shown to be due to a delay in the onset of the immune responses in the draining lymph nodes (ref. 6 and unpublished work by Barwell, R. G., et al.). Having demonstrated the effect of uræmia on the production of the cell-bound antibodies of transplantation immunity, we decided to investigate (a) the elimination of a heterologous serum protein and (b) the production of serum antibodies in the uræmic rabbit.