Localization of Antibodies by Electron Microscopy in Developing Antibody-producing Cells

The development of antibody-producing cells in the early stages of the secondary or hyperimmune response has been studied with the electron microscope in lymph nodes of adult chinchilla rabbits immunized with ferritin or apoferritin. The intracellular distribution of antiferritin antibodies was determined in the lymph node cells at 1 to 5 days after a booster injection, employing the labelling technique previously used by the authors (12) to demonstrate the localization of antibodies in mature plasma cells. Antibodies were first detected at 48 hours in blasts; i.e., cells which have a poorly developed endoplasmic reticulum and a cytoplasm filled with many ribosomes grouped in clusters. The label was subsequently found in forms intermediate between blasts and plasma cells (plasmoblasts, immature plasma cells), in which the endoplasmic reticulum appeared progressively more developed. Antiferritin antibodies were also found in cells in mitosis. In all the above cell types, antigen-antibody precipitates were consistently found in the perinuclear space and in the cisternae of the granular endoplasmic reticulum, from an early stage in the development of the latter. Evidence was also obtained for the presence of antibody in the Golgi area. The results are discussed in relation to the possible cellular sites of antibody synthesis.