The Antigen Binding Dendritic Cell of the Lymphoid Follicles: Evidence Indicating Its Role in the Maintenance and Regulation of Serum Antibody Levels

Abstract

Antigen (Ag) is obligatory for the induction of immune responses. It has been postulated that Ag continues to play a role in their maintenance and regulation, however, the evidence for such a role is largely circumstantial (1–5). In fact, the unequivocal demonstration of a readily degradable Ag persisting in the presence of immune clearance mechanisms has not been reported. The present investigation was undertaken to see how long a simple protein Ag could persist in an immune animal and to see whether retained Ag might be implicated in the maintenance and regulation of antibody (Ab) production.

This work was carried out while on leave from the Department of Microbiology, Medical College of Virginia, P.O. Box 847, Richmond, Virginia 23298, USA.