The antigenicity of regenerating tail tissue in the newt Diemictylus viridescens.

Young adult male rabbits were inoculated with antigens prepared from regenerating (blastema stage) and nonregenerating tail tissues of the newtDiemictylus viridescens. Blood was collected from these rabbits after six weeks of semiweekly injection, two weeks of respite, and two more weeks of injections. A Freund adjuvant was added to the antigen preparations at the time of injection in order to elicit the anamnestic effect.Ouchterlony agar diffusions of the newt antigen preparations vs. the rabbit antisera were carried out. The resulting patterns of precipitation bands were compared and photographed.The strongest precipitation reactions of a given series were those between the antigen preparations made from nonregenerating tissue and their homologous antisera. The weakest reactions occurred between regenerating tissue antigens and regenerating tissue antisera. The strength of the antigen-antibody reactions was judged by the number of bands appearing in the diffusion plate and by the distinctness of these bands. Reactions of intermediate strength occurred between regenerating antigens and nonregenerating antisera, between nonregenerating antigens and regenerating antisera, and between antigens and antisera of different series.The loss of antigenicity during the blastemal period was considered to be related to the destruction of tissue in the wound areas at this time, and to indicate a quantitative rather than a qualitative loss of protein in regenerating tissue.