INTERRELATIONSHIP OF ERYTHROCYTE BLOOD GROUP SUBSTANCES A B AND H STUDIED WITH IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE

Summary. Adult O cells generally showed strong anti‐H reactions; A cells showed an inverse relationship between A and H reactivity; B cells often lacked the expected inverse relationship, showing both weak and strong anti‐H reactions. Newborn O cells usually reacted weakly with anti‐H; A cells generally lacked a reciprocal relationship, and reacted weakly with both anti‐A and anti‐H; B cells reacted strongly with anti‐B and weakly with anti‐H. All this suggests a special property of B that produces strong reactions regardless of the number of antigenic molecules. Seemingly, the high reactivity of the B antigen accounts for the behavioral divergence between erythrocytes and soluble substances. The findings in groups A, 4B, and O support the Watleins and Morgan theory. © 1969 Blackwell Publishing Ltd