Abstract
The effects of saponin on the primary immune response to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) were investigated in mice.
When a large amount of saponin was injected i.v. into mice, all the mice died of acute saponin poisoning within 48hr. Mice were injected i.v. with saponin at a sublethal dose and were stimulated i.v. with 105-1010 SRBC 6hr later. The splenic plaque-forming cell (PFC) response was determined 4 and 7 days later. Saponin-treated mice showed an intensely suppressed direct PFC (DPFC) response at 4 days and an indirect PFC (IPFC) response at 7 days.
It was suggested that the reticuloendothelial system (RES) in saponin-treated mice was functionally defective both at the level of antigen uptake and at the level of antigen processing.
