| Abstract: | Passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) was produced in guinea pigs sensitized with guinea pig Coxiella burneti phase I–II antiserum and challenged with dimethylsulfoxide- or trichloroacetic acid-soluble extracts from phase I cells. The PCA reaction could not be induced by whole or mechanically disrupted phase I or phase II C. burneti cells or by extracted cells or extracts of phase II cells. The antibody responsible for PCA was in the 7Sγ1 (fast γ) globulin. Sensitization of the skin by 7Sγ1 antibody could be blocked nonspecifically by 7Sγ1 globulin from normal serum or from phase II antiserum. The 7Sγ2 (slow γ) globulin antibody inhibited the reaction specifically. Some antiserum pools containing high agglutinin and complement-fixing titers to phase I C. burneti cells failed to initiate the PCA reaction, perhaps due to an imbalanced ratio of γ1 to γ2 specific globulins or to an imbalance in the ratio of specific to nonspecific γ1 globulins. Agglutinins to phase I cells were found in both γ1 and γ2 antibody globulins. Complement-fixing antibodies were found in the γ2 globulin fraction. |
