Serological Properties of Human Blood Group A and B Substances

Abstract

DURING the course of the isolation and characterization of the human blood group B substance from some ovarian cyst fluids, it was observed that certain fractions of the mucoid materials obtained were relatively inactive in the usual iso-agglutination inhibition tests using naturally occurring β-agglutinin. The materials were, however, found to possess high activity when similarly assayed against human immune anti-B sera, which arose as a consequence of an incompatible transfusion or as a direct result of immunization with human group B substance or through an injection of horse serum. Rabbit immune anti-B sera which were produced by means of an artificial antigen made from human blood group B substance, and the serum of a chicken which contained a potent anti-B agglutinin after immunization with Shigella shigæ and absorption with O and A cells, were also found to behave as did the human immune anti-B reagents. In these experiments, in which saline alone was used as diluting medium, all materials which inhibited the naturally occurring β-agglutinin also inhibited the immune anti-B sera.