Antibody production in the rabbit cornea

Clinical immunology in ophthalmology. The 1975 Bedell lecture

Immunology has played a recognizable role in ophthalmology for many years. The old immunology concerned itself with antibodies, skin tests, complement, agglutinins, precipitants, and lysins. The old immunology was responsible for the remarkable development of vaccines, vaccinations, antisera, and the prophylactic use of toxins. The new immunology cannot display such achievements as yet. However, continued study in this area could lead to significant improvements in diagnosis, prognosis, and the development of effective immunoregulants in inflammatory and neoplastic disease.

The nature of the immunologic inadequacy of neonatal rabbits as revealed by cell transfer studies

Lymph node cells capable of either primary or secondary antibody responses following transfer to adult normal or x-radiated homologous recipients make no response following transfer to neonatal homologous recipients. On the basis of the present observations it seems that the environment provided by the neonatal recipient is unsuitable for the immunologic activities of transferred cells in the early phases of the immune response. Neonatal recipients can, however, adequately support cells transferred during the process of active antibody formation. These findings suggest that the immunologic inadequacy of the neonatal animal is related to its internal environment and not necessarily to the lack of cells capable of antibody synthesis.