A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF X-RAY AND DRY HEAT ON ANTIBODY FORMATION

THE FORMATION OF AGGLUTININS WITHIN LYMPH NODES

Agglutinins are formed within the draining lymph nodes of mice, following intradermal injections of killed cultures of microorganisms.

THE LIVER AS A SOURCE OF BACTERIAL AGGLUTININ

Serum and tissues containing agglutinin for the hog cholera bacillus may be dried in vacuo over sulfuric acid without appreciably injuring the antibody. The desiccated material when extracted with appropriate amounts of distilled water offers a basis for accurate comparison of antibody content. The greatest concentration of agglutinin occurred in the liver, provided the animals injected with small amounts of antigen were killed within a short period. The serum of those more highly immunized contained the greatest concentration of antibody. A single injection of antigen into a radicle of the mesenteric vein resulted in a considerable concentration of agglutinin in the liver. Other experiments indicated that the liver does not act as a reservoir for the antibody. It has also been shown that this concentration of agglutinin cannot be ascribed to the blood left within the liver, since the blood serum was relatively poor in antibody. The experiments indicate that the agglutinin was produced within the liver.

THE PRODUCTION OF OSTEOGENIC SARCOMATA AND THE EFFECTS ON LYMPH NODES AND BONE MARROW OF INTRAVENOUS INJECTIONS OF RADIUM CHLORIDE AND MESOTHORIUM IN RABBITS

The observations in this work suggest that with certain doses of radioactive material, the fundamental damage in the lymphoid tissues is to the stem cell and that the damage is to the chromatin of the nuclei of these cells. The erythroid tissues are apparently less susceptible to radioactive material than the lymphoid tissues but an original anemia of secondary type from peripheral destruction may eventually be changed to one of primary type through decreased maturation of primitive cells in the marrow. The damage of lymph nodes and bone marrow leads to atrophy of these organs. The cells of the liver and thymus suffer nuclear damage of the same general character as is seen in the lymph nodes, and there is an atrophy of these organs. The storage of the radioactive material in the bones gave rise to osteogenic sarcomata in two out of seven rabbits surviving from 11 to 19 months. A repetition of the experiment has been undertaken with more intensive studies to test the validity of the findings.

The lymphocyte in immunology: from James B. Murphy to James L. Gowans

Between 1912 and 1921, James Murphy established conclusively the role of the lymphocyte in tissue and tumor graft rejection and in protection against infection. Contemporary mainstream immunology paid little attention to these findings, until the lymphocyte was "rediscovered" with the advent of modern cellular immunology after the mid-1950s.