Passive cutaneous anaphylaxis with antigens from Coxiella burneti.

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 7Sgamma(1) (fast gamma) globulin. Sensitization of the skin by 7Sgamma(1) antibody could be blocked nonspecifically by 7Sgamma(1) globulin from normal serum or from phase II antiserum. The 7Sgamma(2) (slow gamma) 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 gamma(1) to gamma(2) specific globulins or to an imbalance in the ratio of specific to nonspecific gamma(1) globulins. Agglutinins to phase I cells were found in both gamma(1) and gamma(2) antibody globulins. Complement-fixing antibodies were found in the gamma(2) globulin fraction.