RATES OF INDUCTION AND LOSS OF IMMUNOLOGICAL PARALYSIS

An investigation has been made of some factors which might possibly have influenced the rates of induction and loss of immunological paralysis. The rate of induction by a γ globulin antigen may be indirectly related to the half-life of the antigen, but it is not affected at all by changes in antigen concentration over a very wide range. The rate of loss of paralysis is markedly influenced by the age of the animal, older animals losing a state of paralysis more slowly than young animals. Passive antibody has at the most a trivial effect in accelerating the loss of paralysis. It is suggested that the cellular mechanisms involved in the induction and loss of paralysis are different. © 1969 S. Karger AG, Basel.