Precipitin Production in Chickens

Summary The antibody responses to simultaneous injection of varying concentrations (10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg body weight) of bovine serum albumin and human γ globulin, of 40 mg/kg body weight of bovine serum albumin and bovine hemoglobin and of 40 mg/kg body weight of bovine hemoglobin and hog thyroglobulin are described. At each antigenic concentration the responses to bovine serum albumin and human γ globulin when compared at the 8th day after injection show lower titers than in their respective controls. Analysis of antibody production for 20 and 80 mg/kg body weight of bovine serum albumin and human γ globulin at various intervals after injection shows that anti-human γ globulin appears first and reaches a peak comparable to that of its control; however the response to bovine serum albumin is reduced. A crowding out effect which may be due to the larger molecular weight of human γ globulin is postulated. Simultaneous injection of bovine serum albumin and bovine hemoglobin shows no detectable antibody response to bovine hemoglobin in either experimental or control animals but the response to bovine serum albumin was considerably reduced in those animals receiving both antigens.