Suppression of the primary response of rabbits to intravenously administered KLH can be achieved with very small amounts of hyperimmune anti-KLH administered a day later since the rabbit apparently rapidly eliminates most of the KLH by nonimmunologic means. The amount of passive anti-KLH needed to achieve immunosuppression was directly proportional to the dose of injected antigen. Antibody pass...

Following fetal or neonatal gene transfer in mice and other species immune tolerance of the transgenic protein is frequently observed; however the underlying mechanisms remain largely undefined. In this study fetal and neonatal BALB/c mice received adenovirus vector to deliver human factor IX (hFIX) cDNA. The long-term tolerance of hFIX was robust in the face of immune challenge with hFIX prote...

Anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA), an effective countermeasure against anthrax, is administered as six subcutaneous (SQ) doses over 18 months. To optimize the vaccination schedule and route of administration, we performed a prospective pilot study comparing the use of fewer AVA doses administered intramuscularly (IM) or SQ with the current schedule and route. We enrolled 173 volunteers, randomized...

In contrast to Yersinia pestis LcrV, the recombinant V10 (rV10) variant (lacking residues 271 to 300) does not suppress the release of proinflammatory cytokines by immune cells. Immunization with rV10 generates robust antibody responses that protect mice against bubonic plague and pneumonic plague, suggesting that rV10 may serve as an improved plague vaccine.

Rapid formation of poliovirus-neutralizing antibody was observed in the rabbit. 19S type antibody was detectable 8 to 12 hours following a single intravenous virus injection and the induction period was of the order of 4 to 5 hours or less. The production of 7S antibody had a longer lag phase (1(1/2) to 2 days) and it was formed at slower rate. The observed rate of early 19S and 7S antibody for...

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches are important risk factors for antibody-mediated rejection and transplant failure. With the realization that HLAantibodies recognize epitopes rather than antigens, it has become apparent that donor-recipient compatibility should be assessed at the epitope level. Recent developments have increased our understanding of the structural basis of HLA antigenic...

In human volunteers, single injections of purified polyribophosphate elicited antibodies detectable by passive hemagglutination and by serum bactericidal and opsonizing activities against viable Hemophilus influenzae, type b. All three activities rose by 2 wk to maximal levels, at which they remained for at least 6 months. Doses of 1 mug elicited antibody responses in nearly all recipients; hig...

The level of circulating antibody to phenolic glycolipid I of Mycobacterium leprae was determined in 18 inbred strains of mice after immunization with M. leprae organisms. By using a solid-phase radioimmunoassay with phenolic glycolipid I as test antigen, a continuous distribution of antibody levels ranging from high to low was observed. The level was found to be controlled by multiple genes, i...

Inhibitory antibody formation is a major complication of factor VIII replacement therapy in patients with hemophilia A. To better understand the pathogenesis of this immunologic reaction, we evaluated the role of T-cell costimulatory signals for antifactor VIII antibody formation in a murine model of hemophilia A. Repeated intravenous injections of factor VIII in these factor VIII-deficient mic...

The commonest myth about science in the media is that journalists are interested only in doom and disaster. The second commonest is that rare reports of good news are invariably ruined by error and sensationalism. The UK media on 10 March provided ample evidence to explode these myths simultaneously. The occasion was the publication of two closely linked papers (Science 2000, 287:1809-1815 and ...