Anti-immunoglobulin analysis by diffusion patterns of inhibition and facilitation of complementary lysis in agar. I. Diffusion-lysis patterns of heterologous guinea pig anti-immunoglobulins.

Anti-rabbit immunoglobulin-containing sera were produced by immunizing guinea pigs with guinea pig red cells sensitized with rabbit-produced haemolysin against them. Such sera, and their 7S and 19S fractions, were radially diffused in agar containing sheep red cells sensitized with rabbit haemolysin and fractions thereof. After diffusion, the preparations were treated with guinea pig complement, which produced partial lysis in the background and a series of alternating rings of more and less lysis than that in the background. These were interpreted as a due to the presence of at least four anti-immunoglobulins (anti-Ig's) as follows: a 19S anti-Ig which inhibited lysis by 7S and 19S haemolysin; a 7S anti-Ig which facilitated lysis by 7S and 19S heamolysin; a 7S anti-Ig which inhibited lysis by 7S and 19S haemolysin; a 7S anti-Ig which facilitated lysis by 19S haemolysin. Similar patterns were obtained using correspondingly produced sera against mouse immunoglobulin, and sensitizing the sheep cells in the agar with mouse-produced haemolysin.