Asymmetric non-precipitating antibodies in commercial hyperimmune gamma-globulin for therapeutic use.

The presence of asymmetric (non-precipitating or co-precipitating) antibodies has been studied in three commercial preparations of antitetanus gamma-globulin. It was found that 27% of the specific antibodies are of asymmetric type, a value two to three times higher than that found in normal IgG. In toxicity tests in mice with tetanus toxin, the asymmetric antibodies were 2.7 times less effective than the symmetric ones. It is concluded that the protection capacity of the tetanus gamma-globulin preparations is dependent on the ratio of symmetric to asymmetric antibodies. The high content of asymmetric antibodies is probably due to the fact that immunization is performed with the antigen in a particulate form.