A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE CROSS REACTION OF TYPES III AND VIII PNEUMOCOCCI IN HORSE AND RABBIT ANTISERA

Preparation and Neutralization Efficacy of Novel Jellyfish Antivenoms against Cyanea nozakii Toxins

Jellyfish stings are a common issue globally, particularly in coastal areas in the summer. Victims can suffer pain, itching, swelling, shock, and even death. Usually, hot water, vinegar, or alumen is used to treat the normal symptoms of a jellyfish sting. However, a specific antivenom may be an effective treatment to deal with severe jellyfish stings. Cyanea nozakii often reach a diameter of 60 cm and are responsible for hundreds of thousands of stings per year in coastal Chinese waters. However, there has been no specific C. nozakii antivenom until now, and so the development of this antivenom is very important. Herein, we collected C. nozakii antisera from tentacle extract venom immunized rabbits and purified the immunoglobulin (IgG) fraction antivenom (AntiCnTXs). Subsequently, two complete procedures to produce a refined F(ab')₂ type of antivenom (F(ab')₂-AntiCnTXs) and Fab type of antivenom (Fab-AntiCnTXs) by multiple optimizations and purification were established. The neutralization efficacy of these three types of antivenoms was compared and analyzed in vitro and in vivo, and the results showed that all types of antibodies displayed some neutralization effect on the lethality of C. nozakii venom toxins, with the neutralization efficacy as follows: F(ab')₂-AntiCnTXs ≥ AntiCnTXs > Fab-AntiCnTXs. This study describes the preparation of novel C. nozakii jellyfish antivenom preparations towards the goal of developing a new, effective treatment for jellyfish stings.

THE IMMUNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF THE HETEROPHILE ANTIGEN AND SOMATIC POLYSACCHARIDE OF PNEUMOCOCCUS

1. The lipocarbohydrate or F polysaccharide derived from a rough variant of Type I pneumococcus (I R) is antigenic in rabbits and gives rise to precipitins and sheep cell hemolysins. The somatic or C carbohydrate on the other hand is not antigenic. 2. Antisera for the rough variant of Type 1 pneumococcus contain also bacterial agglutinins immunologically unrelated to the C and F precipitins and the heterophile antibody. 3. A study has been made of the quantitative precipitin reaction of the C and F polysaccharides in the serum of rabbits immunized with the IR pneumococcus clarifying certain of these relationships.

THE IMMUNOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP OF THE CAPSULAR POLYSACCHARIDE OF TYPE XIV PNEUMOCOCCUS TO THE BLOOD GROUP A SPECIFIC SUBSTANCE

1. The agglutination of human erythrocytes and the precipitation of the blood group A substance by Type XIV antipneumococcus horse serum are properties of the specific anticarbohydrate immune bodies in the serum. 2. Absorption of Type XIV antipneumococcus horse serum with the homologous bacterial polysaccharide removes the agglutinins for human erythrocytes as well as the precipitins for the group A substance. 3. Absorption of Type XIV antipneumococcus horse serum with the group A substance markedly diminishes the ability of the serum to agglutinate erythrocytes of all groups. 4. Absorption of Type XIV antipneumococcus horse serum with human erythrocytes causes a marked diminution in the precipitation with group A substance. 5. The chemical and immunological relationship between the specific substances of blood group A and the Type XIV Pneumococcus is discussed.

QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON ANTIBODY PURIFICATION : II. THE DISSOCIATION OF ANTIBODY FROM PNEUMOCOCCUS SPECIFIC PRECIPITATES AND SPECIFICALLY AGGLUTINATED PNEUMOCOCCI

1. The salt dissociation and barium hydroxide-barium chloride methods are extended to the preparation of highly purified antibody solutions from specific precipitates derived from Type III and Type VIII antipneumococcus horse sera and a low grade polyvalent bovine serum. Analytically pure precipitin (agglutinin) was obtained from the last, and Types I, II, and III antibodies were separated. 2. Difficulties connected with the application of the methods to Type I antipneumococcus rabbit sera are described, as is also the purification of antibody from low grade pig and sheep sera. 3. The dissociation of antibody by both methods from Type I pneumococci agglutinated in antisera produced in the horse, rabbit, pig, and sheep, is described and its advantages discussed. 4. Certain theoretical aspects of the work are also discussed.

QUANTITATIVE EXPERIMENTS WITH ANTIBODIES TO A SPECIFIC PRECIPITATE. I

1. Rabbits were injected with the washed specific precipitate from Type II antipneumococcus horse serum. Antibody in the resulting antiserum was determined by the quantitative agglutinin method using various specific precipitates as antigens. 2. Suspensions of Types I and II antipneumococcus horse specific precipitates, as well as the specific precipitates derived from Type VIII Pn (anti-C portion), and H. influenzae horse antisera were found to remove the same amount of antibody from the immune rabbit serum. 3. Purified antibody solutions prepared by dissociation methods from Types I and II antipneumococcus horse sera were found to remove the same quantity of antibody as did the homologous specific precipitates. 4. Specific precipitates from anti-crystalline egg albumin and anti-diphtheria horse sera were found to remove only a fraction of the antibody. The reasons for this are discussed. 5. A specific precipitate prepared from pepsin-digested Type I anti-pneumococcus horse serum removed all of the antibody to the homologous antigen from the rabbit anti-precipitate serum, but followed a different quantitative course. 6. From the quantitative course of these reactions and from experiments with specific precipitates from anti-Pn rabbit and pig sera it is concluded that the only antigenic specificity demonstrable for the antibodies investigated was that due to their common origin, and that the groupings responsible for their antibody function constitute either a small part of the total protein molecule or else are non-antigenic.

QUANTITATIVE EXPERIMENTS WITH ANTIBODIES TO A SPECIFIC PRECIPITATE : III. ANTIGENIC PROPERTIES OF HORSE SERUM FRACTIONS ISOLATED BY ELECTROPHORESIS AND BY ULTRACENTRIFUGATION

1. Rabbit antisera to a Type II pneumococcus specific precipitate from horse serum were tested with fractions prepared by ultracentrifugation and electrophoresis of normal and immune horse serum. 2. In one instance a rapidly sedimenting protein from normal horse serum had nearly the same quantitative antigenic properties toward the anti-antibody rabbit serum as did the purified pneumococcus antibody solutions previously reported. In another instance a comparable fraction removed only a part of the rabbit antibody. 3. Electrophoretic γ-globulin from an immune horse serum had quantitatively the same antigenic properties as did antibody solutions prepared by salt-dissociation of specific precipitates. 4. Electrophoretic γ-globulin from normal horse serum differed in its antigenic behavior from γ-globulin containing antibody. The data are compared with the antigenic properties of acid and alkali treated pneumococcus specific polysaccharides toward antipneumococcus horse sera. An interpretation in terms of polymers is suggested. 5. The cross-reaction of goat serum γ-globulin against the anti-antibody serum is reported and the extent of the reaction compared with those of goat and horse serum albumins against a rabbit antiserum to the latter.

TWO SEROLOGICAL TYPES OF GROUP B HEMOLYTIC STREPTOCOCCI WITH RELATED, BUT NOT IDENTICAL, TYPE-SPECIFIC SUBSTANCES

1. Among group B hemolytic streptococci one serological type previously described as homogeneous has been shown, instead, to contain two closely related types, distinguishable by reciprocal absorption experiments. These streptococci are designated Types Ia and Ib. 2. Homologous organisms in each case absorb all antibodies from their respective antisera, while organisms of the heterologous related type absorb only the antibody responsible for the cross reactions. Group B streptococci of other types do not absorb the antibodies responsible for the cross reactions between these two related types. The precipitin reaction and passive protection tests in mice were employed in this analysis. 3. The type-specific substance of Type Ia is a polysaccharide. Preliminary study indicates that this is also true of Type Ib. While no data are available concerning the chemical relationships of these substances, it seems probable that the two types elaborate polysaccharides, related chemically as well as serologically.

A FURTHER STUDY OF THE CROSS REACTION BETWEEN THE SPECIFIC POLYSACCHARIDES OF TYPES III AND VIII PNEUMOCOCCI IN HORSE ANTISERA

1. The cross reaction of the specific polysaccharide of Type VIII pneumococcus with Type III antipneumococcus horse serum has been studied quantitatively and found similar to the S III-anti-S VIII reaction. 2. Contrasted with the general similarity of the two-segment reaction curves were distinct qualitative and quantitative differences in the course and character of the reciprocal reactions with respect to each segment. 3. These differences could be interpreted in terms of the known chemical differences between the specific polysaccharides of the two types. A minimum molecular weight of 62,000 was calculated for S III and 140,000 for S VIII. 4. It was also found possible to fractionate the Type VIII antibody into portions characteristic of each segment of the cross reaction curve. At least three different kinds of Type III and Type VIII anticarbohydrates were identified.

A QUANTITATIVE THEORY OF THE PRECIPITIN REACTION : VI. THE REACTION BETWEEN MAMMALIAN THYROGLOBULINS AND ANTIBODIES TO HOMOLOGOUS AND HETEROLOGOUS PREPARATIONS

1. Quantitative data for both homologous and heterologous precipitin reactions of human, hog, beef, and sheep thyroglobulins show that these reactions have the same mechanism as other instances of the precipitin reaction and may be expressed quantitatively by the same equations derived from the law of mass action. 2. It is shown that all of the added antigen is precipitated in the region of antibody excess and in the equivalence zone, so that in these portions of the reaction range the composition of the specific precipitate may be calculated from the nitrogen precipitated and the amount of antigen nitrogen added. 3. The thyroglobulin-antibody reaction is characterized by low antibody N to antigen N ratios, as would be expected with an antigen of high molecular weight. Molecular ratios varying from 60:1 to 1:1 were calculated for the extremes of the reaction range, indicating a very large number of immunologically reactive groupings on the thyroglobulin molecule. 4. Failure of thyroxine or diiodotyrosine to inhibit specific precipitation was confirmed, but it is shown that this need not mean that these substances do not occur in thyroglobulin, as has been claimed.

Quantitative aspects of antigen-antibody reactions. II. Some comparisons between the theory and the experimental results

The quantitative theory for the interaction between antigen and antibody presented in the previous paper has been compared with some experimental precipitin reactions published in the literature. These reactions include Type VIII pneumococcus polysaccharide-homologous (horse) antibody, egg albumin-(rabbit) anti-egg albumin and diphtheria toxin-(horse) antitoxin.

1. The general course of the experimental precipitation curves (total amount of precipitate, amounts of precipitated antigen and antibody) corresponded well to the theoretical type curves. Hence it may be concluded that the precipitates may be composed of mixtures of compounds of the types AG, A2G, A3G, …, ANG in accordance with the law of mass action. In the cases with ‘inhibition zones’, however, AG, or ANG, or both (and perhaps several more compounds) retain the same solubility as the free antigen (G) and free antibody (A).

2. With regard to the location of the ‘equivalence zones’, experiment and theory also showed a satisfactory agreement.

3. A hypothesis on the velocity of flocculation in the precipitin reaction is presented and compared with some recent results. The relation between the immunological concepts ‘equivalence (neutral) point’, ‘optimum point’ and ‘maximum precipitation point’ is also discussed.

Immunochemical studies on blood groups; chemical changes associated with destruction of blood group activity and enhancement of the type XIV cross-reactivity by partial hydrolysis of hog and human blood group A, B, and O substances

1. The effect of heating at varying pH on the cross-reactivity of hog blood group A and 0 substances with Type XIV antibody has been investigated. The hydrolysis of blood group A, B, and O substances from hog and human sources at pH 1.5-1.8 resulted in destruction of blood group activity and a marked increase in cross-reactivity with Type XIV antipneumococcus horse serum. 2. Analysis revealed the liberation of reducing sugar, most of which was dialyzable. It was further shown that the major part of the reducing sugar was fucose with small amounts of free and polymerized galactose and glucosamine. Non-glucosamine nitrogen, probably amino acids, also was found in the dialysate. 3. Paper chromatographic separation of the concentrated dialysate confirmed the presence of fucose and showed that the majority of the galactose and glucosamine occurred in polymeric form. 4. Quantitative analysis of the substances isolated from the paper showed good recovery of the various components, indicating that practically all of the material in the dialysate could be accounted for. 5. The methylpentose of human blood group A substance was identified as fucose. 6. The structure of the blood group substances is interpreted in terms of these results.

Immunochemical studies on blood groups; the cross reaction between type XIV antipneumococcal horse serum and purified blood group A, B, and O substances from hog and human sources

Purified blood group A, B, and O substances from hog and human sources precipitate with Type XIV antipneumococcal horse serum and provide an explanation for the observation that Type XIV antibody agglutinates human erythrocytes of all four major blood groups. Individual preparations of A substance or O substance from either species vary in their capacity to precipitate Type XIV antibody although the hog A substances did not differ in potency toward anti-A. Similarly, no correlation between A activity and reactivity with Type XIV antibody could be found among the human A substances.

Studies on bacteriophage. II. Inhibition of lysis of Escherichia coli B by the somatic antigen of Phase II Shigella sonnei

By serological means it has been shown that E. coli B contains an antigen closely related to the protein-lipocarbohydrate complex of Phase II Sh. sonnei. Lysis of E. coli B by three of the T viruses, T₃, T₄, and T₇, can be inhibited by the Phase II dysentery antigen. It has been suggested that the receptor of E. coli B with which these viruses combine is this newly described antigenic component. Two variants of the virus T₃ have also been described, in stocks which have been treated with the Phase II antigen. One of these variants infects both Phase II Sh. sonnei and E. coli B, and the other infects only the latter microorganism; neither of the two variants is inhibited by concentrations of the Phase II antigen of 1 mg. per cc. The distinctive properties of the variants are not hereditary.

Characterization of the type 8 capsular gene cluster of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The complete nucleotide sequence of the capsular gene cluster (cap8) responsible for the biosynthesis of the capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 8 has been determined. The cap8 gene cluster, located between the genes dexB and aliA, is composed of 12 open reading frames. A 14.7-kb DNA fragment embracing the cap8 genes was sufficient to transform an unencapsulated type 3 S. pneumoniae strain to a strain with the type 8 capsule. A possible scenario for the evolution of pneumococcal types 2 and 8 is outlined.

CROSS-REACTIONS OF PNEUMOCOCCAL TYPES. QUANTITATIVE STUDIES WITH THE CAPSULAR POLYSACCHARIDES

Data are given on the amounts of antibody nitrogen precipitated in the crossreactions, often reciprocal, of the specific capsular polysaccharides of the pneumococcal type pairs II and XX, II and XIX, VII and XIV, VII and XVIII, VII and XIX, VIII and XVIII, VIII and XIX, X and XIV, and X and XX. Since little is known of the fine structures of the polysaccharides of Types VII, X, XIX, and XX, rigorous correlations between chemical structure and specificity can not be made, but several tentative conclusions are drawn.

Precipitating cross-reactions among pneumococcal types

Data accumulated over many years are brought together on cross-reactions of 46 among the more than 80 pneumococcal serological types, with the idea of correlating cross-reactions with the structures of the relevant type-specific capsular polysaccharides, insofar as these have been determined. The precipitin reaction was carried out with the polysaccharides and antibodies raised in horses, rabbits, and a mule. Quantitative values (micrograms of antibody nitrogen per milliliter of antiserum at 0 to 1 degree C) are given in many instances and discussed, together with arbitrary qualitative data, in terms of the known structures of the polysaccharides. Some precise relationships are uncovered, and an attempt is made to determine why some of the cross-reactions are reciprocal and why others are only unilateral.

The immunological specificity of type II Pneumococcus and its separation into partial specificities

The specificity of Type II pneumococcus determined by its capsular polysaccharide (S II) may be separated into three partial specificities, each characteristic of one of the three component sugars of S II, namely, glucuronic acid, glucose, and rhamnose. By far the largest portion of antibodies in Type II antipneumococcus horse sera which cross-react with carbohydrates containing one or more of these sugars are reactive with those characterized by multiple groupings of glucuronic acid. This confirms, extends, and explains earlier observations. In confirmation of predictions based upon existing information tamarind seed polysaccharide (jellose), in which much of the glucose exists as 1,4,6-branch points, was found to react in Type II antisera. Several instances are given of cross-reactions in these antisera apparently due to the L-rhamnose component of the reacting polysaccharides. The antisera contain far more antibody capable of precipitating with substances with multiple units of glucuronic acid than with those so far tested containing multiple 1,4,6-branch points of glucose or multiple groupings of rhamnose. The long known increase of titer of gum arabic on partial hydrolysis is now fully explained and discussed, and a chemical picture is given of the change in "avidity." The sum of the partial specificities measured does not equal the whole. Quantitative data illustrating these points are given.

Glycogen, an immunologically specific polysaccharide

Glycogens from various animal and vegetable sources precipitate antipneumococcal horse sera of Types II, VII, IX, XII, XX, and XXII. Fractionated glycogen and glycogen recovered after reprecipitation, acetylation, and deacetylation precipitate the antisera, but glycogen degraded by saliva does not. A fraction of the antibody is precipitated in the antisera by glycogen. Possible chemical relationships accounting for these instances of cross-precipitation are discussed in terms of the structures of glycogen and the type-specific polysaccharides of pneumococcus and the quantitative theory of specific precipitation. Amylopectin also gives cross-reactions of smaller magnitude. Quantitative data on these are withheld until irregularities have been eliminated.

STUDIES ON THE FLEXNER GROUP OF DYSENTERY BACILLI : V. A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE SEROLOGICAL CROSS-REACTIONS

A quantitative study of the serological cross-reactions of the somatic antigens of Types I, III, and I-III Shigella paradysenteriae has been made. From the results obtained it has been concluded that the somatic antigens of Shigella paradysenteriae (Flexner) Types I, III, and I-III are single chemical substances. The specificity and serological cross-reactions exhibited by these antigens are dependent upon similarities in their chemical constitutions.