Japanese Journal of Allergology

The results of our previous investigation indicated that chemotactic attraction of intraperitoneal cells depended on the heterogenecity and the macromolecularity of the substance. Substances tested for chemotactic activity in this Agar-Bullet method were 1) BSA, 2) soluble antigen-antibody complexes, 3) mixtures of BSA and rabbit gamma globulin, 4) precipitated complexes, 5) bovine gamma globulin. Soluble complexes prepared with excess antigen in vitro showed marked chemotactic activity which was considered to be due to its heterogenesity and macromolecularity.

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The microcirculatory disturbances in experimental allergy studied on the guinea pig mesentery by using in vivo microscopy are as follows. 1) The observation of the microcirculatory disturbances on the sensitized guinea pig mesentery by egg albumin for the general understanding of the Arthus phenomenon. 2) The observation of the microcirculatory disturbances with the administration of IgG soluble immune complex prepared from the anti-BSA rabbit sera. 3) The observation of the microcirculatory disturbances with the administration of the so-called mediators of allergy: histamine, serotonin, acetylcholine and bradykinin. 4) The observation of the microcirculatory disturbances on the guinea pig mesentery sensitized by killed tubercle bacilli (Aoyama B strain) with administration of old tuberculin, TAP, PPDs. Through these experiments, the most common and predominant phenomena demonstrated on the microcirculatory region are consisted of stasis caused by plasma exsudation, temporal sticking of leucocyte in the venule and leakage of erythrocytes from venules. The colloidchemical changes of the AMP of the vascular wall should be emphasized for the development of these phenomena.

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Serum complement levels in patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases were studied, and the following results were obtained. 1. Serum complement levels (CH50) in patients with SLE and complement levels of synovial fluid in patient with rheumatoid arthritis were the lowest and were followed with Hashimoto's disease. 2. Serum complement levels (CH50) and the complement component levels in patients with SLE were the lowest in the acute stage. Serum complement levels have a positive correlation with the degrees of albuminuria and LE cell, staining pattern of antinuclear antibody, titer of antinuclear antibody and titer of anti-DNA antibody but have a negative correlation with the levels of serum DNA and anticomplementary activity. 3. Serum complement levels (CH50) and the component levels in patients with SLE in acute stage radually became elevated by therapy of steroid hormone and it usually takes 4-6 months to reach the normal level, but in the remission, Serum complement levels did not increase with steroid administration. The tendency of the low complement levels was observed again with the reduction of steroid dosis, i.e., by the maintenance dosis of ten to fifteen milligrams daily as prednisolone. 4. The treatment of inactivated SLE sera with DNase resulted in the reduction of anticomplementary activity in majority of the cases.

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In order to clarify the roles of blocking antibody in hyposensitization therapy, clinical and immunological studies were performed on 69 cases which received House Dust hyposensitization therapy. The results were followed: 1) Blocking antibody was found to rapidly combine with specific antigen in vivo or in vitro, and to inactivate the antigen-activity even in the presence of reagin. 2) The antibody titers measured by the passive hemagglutination test or PCA reaction were correlated with the blocking antibody titers (the correlation were statistically significant with 5% significant level) The skin sensitivity threshold values showed a inverse correlation with the hemagglution titers. 3) Blocking and hemagglutinating antibodies were increased with therapeutic doses, but the increase reached its maxium with the doses of 1000-1500μgN (total nitrogen) and thereafter continued its high levels. 4) Clinical severity of asthma correlated with blocking antibody titers (r = -0.387 was satistically significant with 5% level), but with reagin it did not show a sratistically significant correlation. 5) Patients who received injection therapy for a long period showed a trend to have increased levels of each of 3 main immunoglobulins, but the increases were not statistically significant. 6) The level of blocking antibodies tended to decline with the advance of patient's ages. 7) Blocking antibody production was shown to be inhibited with long term steroid hormone treatment. 8) Both of blocking or reaginic antibody titers were not different between the intradermal and subcutaneous methods of hyposensitization. 9) The changes of blocking and reaginic antibody titers were likely to be correlated each other. Reaginic titers showed a steep decline at 20-40 weeks of hyposensitization treatment, contrasting to the increase of blocking titers. 10) Blocking antibody belongs to immunoglobulin G only.

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