An experimental study on the antigenecity of enterobacterial common antigen in rabbits

Especially on the adjuvant action of renal tissue

Abstract

A serological approach to the diagnosis of chronic pyelonephritis has been made in our laboratory, -which proved that a si gnificant rise in antibody response against enterobacterial common antigen is found in the cases with this disease, while in most cases with infectious diseases of other organs due to enteric bacteria, such as cystitis, cholecystitis, enteritis and pulmonary suppurative diseases, few or no common antibody response is observed . From these observations, attempts were made to determine whether differences between 0 and common antibody response exist and whether kidney tissue itself has an adjuvant action for the antibody formation in rabbits against the common antigen . Materials and methods. Antigens were prepared from smooth strains of E. coli 0 :14, 0 : 55, 0 : 111, 0 : 127. The heated bacterial suspensions and their supernates of above mentioned organisms, containing both common and 0 antigens, were used for immunization . Albino rabbits were immunized intravenously with these heated suspensions or supernates alone, or with supernate from E, coli 0 : 55 absorbed with autologous erythrocytes. Rabbits were also immunized subcutaneously with supernates from E. coli 0 : 55, 0 : 111, 0 : 127 mixed with complete Freund's adjuvant or blood-free tissue emulsions of the kidney (whole kidney, cortex and medulla), liver, lung and intestine. To test the cross-reaction between common antigen and anti -rabbit-kidney-serum, rabbits were immunized subcutaneously with whole kidney emulsion . Supernates from E. coli 0 : 55, 0 :111, 0 : 127, S. typhi murium, Kleb. pneumoniae, Prot, vulgaris were used as test antigens for this reaction. Titration of 0 and common antibodies was carried out by means of the hemagglutination and hernagglutination-inhibition test, respectively. Results and conclusions. (1) When rabbits were immunized intravenously or subcutaneously with the heated suspensions or the .supernates from E. coli 0 : 55, 0 : 111, 0 : 127, the 0 antibody response rose soon after the start of immunization, while little or no rise was observed in common antibody response . (2) Administration of these antigens, mixed with complete Freund's adjuvant or kidney tissue emulsion (whole kidney, cortex or medulla emulsion), resulted in the formation of 0 antibody similar to that described above and the formation of common antibody in high titer. Medulla emulsion was the strongest in adjuvant action among three kinds of kidney emulsions and its effect was almost equal to that of Freund's adjuvant. Erythrocytes also has a weak adjuvant action. Liver, lung, and intestine emulsions showed little or no adjuvant action. (3) E. coli 0 : 14 was the only strain which is able to give remarkable rise of the common antibody response with intravenous administration of heated suspension. (4) Anti-rabbit-kidney-serum cross-reacted slightly with E, coli 0 : 14 antigen, but not with the antigens from other strains. (5) These results suggest that the kidney tissue emulsion, especially of the medulla, is effective as an adjuvant for the enhancement of the antibody response against enterobacterial common antigen and that it explains the cause of the higher incidence of elevated enterobacterial common antibody response in the patients with chronic pyelonephritis.