Adjuvant Action ofBacterial Endotoxin and Colchicine onAntibody Formation intheHamster

Received forpublication 30April 1971 Endotoxin wasdemonstrated nottoactasanadjuvant intheprimary antibody response intheSyrian hamster. Minimal adjuvant action wasdemonstrable in antibody formation toasecond injection ofbovine gammaglobulin. Theimmunological status ofthehamster towards theendotoxin didnotalter this weakadjuvant action. Itwasconfirmed that theantimitotic drugcolchicine will actasanadjuvant intheprimary antibody response tosheep redblood cells butnottobovine gamma globulin orendotoxin intheSyrian hamster. Bacterial endotoxin hasbeenshowntobean adjuvant toantibody formation inseveral animal species. Theexact mechanism bywhich endotoxin exerts this adjuvant action remains undefined, but evidence supports thehypothesis thatendotoxin damages lymphoid cells andreleases nucleic acids (4)whichwill thenenhance antibody formation (7). Inprevious experiments, bacterial endotoxin wasfoundincapable ofcausing a generalized Shwartzman reaction (GSR)intheSyrian hamster under avariety ofconditions, anditwasnot immunogenic after asingle injection intothese animals (6). Endotoxin was,however, toxic to hamsters asevidenced byhuddling, conjunctivitis, andfetal death. Sincetherewas no detectable natural antibody andnodetectable primary antibody response toendotoxin, itwas felt thatthehamster provided a systemfor investigating therole ofimmunity toendotoxin on itsability toactasanadjuvant. Inaddition, since colchicine causes a disease inpregnant Syrian hamsters indistinguishable fromtheGSR (2)andhasbeenshowntobeaweakbutdefinite adjuvant toantibody formation inthehamster (3), experiments wereundertaken tostudy its role asanadjuvant toantibody formation inthe Syrian hamster inthislaboratory.