Separate Application of Adjuvant and Antigen: The Effect of a Water-in-Oil Emulsion on the Splenic Plaque-Forming Cell Response to Sheep Red Blood Cells in Mice

• Published in: Immunobiology (1979) 1986-03, Vol.171 (1), p.143-154
• Main Authors: Van Der Heijden, PhJ, Bianchi, B.T.J., Scholten, J.W., Stok, W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animals; Antigens - immunology; Emulsions; Erythrocytes - immunology; Hemolytic Plaque Technique; Immunoglobulin A - immunology; Immunoglobulin G - immunology; Immunoglobulin M - immunology; Lymphocytes - immunology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mineral Oil; Sheep; Spleen - immunology; Water
• ISSN: 0171-2985; 1878-3279
• DOI: 10.1016/S0171-2985(86)80023-7

The effect of a non-immunogenic adjuvant on the murine splenic plaque-forming cell (PFC) response against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was studiedThe adjuvant, a stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion, was injected intraperitoneally at the same time as or prior to the intravenous (i.v.) injection of SRBCEnhancement of the SRBC-specific IgM-, but not IgG- and IgAresponses was observedThe stimulatory effect depended on the dose of both adjuvant and antigen and on the interval between their applicationThe minimal dose of adjuvant needed to induce maximal stimulation increased with the interval between the injectionsAdministration of an optimal adjuvant dose one week before antigen application still resulted in a clear stimulation of the response to the antigenIn adjuvant-treated animals, the primary PFC response did not exceed the maximum level reached after i.vinjection of a high dose of SRBCAdjuvant therapy also resulted in polyclonal B cell-activation, since the number of spontaneous Ig-secreting cells in the spleen was increasedThe kinetics and isotype distribution of the SRBC-specific and polyclonal responses, however, were differentTherefore, the observed stimulatory effect on the SRBC-specific PFC-response cannot be explained by the polyclonal activation of the immune systemFrom this study it appears that injection of a W/O emulsion provokes an active stimulation of the immune system, which demonstrates that the adjuvant effect of W/O emulsions is not only passively obtained by prolonged antigen presentation by depot formation.