Historical Insight: The immunologic relationship between the fetus and its parents has fascinated investigators for generations. Early experiments by Ehrlich, as recounted here by Arthur Silverstein, clarified some crucial issues and paved the way for studies that are still ongoing today.
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References
Behring, E. & Kitasato, S. Deutsch. med. Wochenschr. 16, 1113–1114 (1890).
In Les Virus (Alcan, Paris, 1891), S. Arloing says (p 285), “When the father is cured of a virulent infection, when he participates in the act of insemination he may transmit a part of the immunity which he enjoys. The male ovule … has been dynamically modified … it carries a vaccinating substance which spreads in all of the cells of the embryo and fetus.”
Fournier, E. Héredo-syphilis de Seconde Génération (Rueff, Paris,1905). At the time, it was speculated that not only could disease be transmitted by way of an “altered zygote,” but even across generations.
Ehrlich, P. Deutsch. med. Wochenschr. 17, 976– 979 & 1218–1219 (1891 ). (Translation: Ehrlich, P. in Collected Papers Vol. 2, 21–26 & 27–30, respectively, Pergamon, London, 1956–1960.)
The story of Ehrlich's work in this area is presented in greater detail in Silverstein, A.M. Cell Immunol. 174, 1–6 (1996 ).
Ehrlich, P.Z. Hyg. Infektkr. 12, 183–203 (1892). (Translation: Ehrlich, P. in Collected Papers Vol. 2, 31–44, Pergamon, London, 1956–1960).
Ehrlich, P. in Collected Papers Vol. 2, 35 (Pergamon, London, 1956–1960).
Ehrlich P. & Hübener, W. Z. Hyg. Infektkr. 18, 51–64 (1894). (Translation: Ehrlich, P. in Collected Papers Vol. 2, 63– 71, Pergamon, London, 1956–1960.)
Brieger, L. Ehrlich, P. Deutsch. med. Wochenschr. 18, 393– 394 (1892). (Translation: Ehrlich, P. in Collected Papers Vol. 2, 45–47, Pergamon, London, 1956–1960.)
It would take over 60 years before Ita Askonas et al. (J. Biochem. 56, 597– 601,1954) would confirm this earlier work. They showed that both rabbit and goat antibodies come directly via a transudate of the blood.
See, for example, Brambell, F.W.R. The Transmission of Passive Immunity from Mother to Young (North Holland, Amsterdam, 1970), Solomon, J.B. Foetal and Neonatal Immunology (North Holland, Amsterdam, 1971) & Hemmings, W.A. (ed.) Maternofoetal Transmission of Immunity (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976).
Brieger, L. & Ehrlich, P. Z. Hyg. Infektkr. 13 , 336–346 (1892). (Translation: Ehrlich, P. in Collected Papers Vol. 2, 48– 55, Pergamon, London, 1956–1960.)
Dixon, F.J., Maurer, P.H. & Deichmiller, M.P. J. Immunol. 72, 179– 186 (1954).
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Silverstein, A. The most elegant immunological experiment of the XIX century. Nat Immunol 1, 93–94 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/77874
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/77874
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