Factors influencing the immune response

Abstract

The mechanisms involved in the in vivo synthesis of the immune globulins has been and still is one of the most perplexing problems to the immunologist. There is now a vast and ever increasing amount of information concerning the synthesis of the peptide chain and the linking together and folding of different peptides chains to form the intact protein molecule. The antibody combining site has been characterized with respect to size, binding affinity and position on the antibody molecule; also certain biological characteristics such as complement fixation and the ability of certain antibodies to fix to tissue have been ascribed to specific portions of the antibody molecule. However, little is yet known about factors which control the specific synthesis of antibody at the cellular level with respect to 1) the recognition and processing of antigen and the proliferation of the sensitized immunocyte, 2) the factors governing the quantity and quality of antibody which is produced following the primary, secondary and tertiary exposure to antigen and 3) factors (either naturally occurring or artificially induced) which tend to completely suppress, partially suppress, or augment antibody production. Operationally it was felt that the second and third areas were most easily approachable experimentally and would yield information which then could be related to the first area. Therefore it was decided to study factors which tended to completely suppress, partially suppress or augment antibody production with respect to the quantity and quality of the antibody produced.