The Effect of Carrier Tolerance on the Antibody Response of Guinea Pigs to the Azobenzenearsonate Hapten1

Recently several investigators have shown that the immune response of an animal immunized with hapten-carrier conjugates is significantly influenced by the nature of the carrier molecule. Siskind et at. (1) demonstrated in guinea pigs that the carrier to which DNP is coupled influences the amount, type, and functional activity (i.e., affinity) of anti-DNP antibodies, and Fronstin, Sage, and Vazquez (2) have shown that the degree of anti-DNP responsiveness elicited in mice is directly related to the antigenicity of the carrier.The present study examines the antihapten antibody response of guinea pigs immunized with arsanilic acid conjugates of homologous and heterologous serum protein carriers, and compares the effect of natural and acquired tolerance to the carrier on these responses.Materials and Methods. Random bred, adult male albino guinea pigs (300-360 g) were used in these experiments.Reagents. Azobenzenearsonate (ABA) conjugates were made as before (3) by diazoti-zation and coupling in the ratio of...