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Specific Secondary Biological Properties of Purified Rabbit Immunoglobulin M and Immunoglobulin G Antibodies to Brucella abortus and Bordetella pertussis

^a Departments of Pediatrics and Bacteriology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32601

ABSTRACT

Rabbit immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG antibodies to Brucella abortus and Bordetella pertussis were isolated as purified products and their specific secondary biological activities were compared. IgM antibodies were found to be more active than IgG proteins in inducing agglutination and sensitization of B. abortus for the complement-dependent bactericidal effect and in inhibiting B. pertussis-induced lymphocytosis in the mouse. IgM and IgG antibodies were found to be equally effective in inducing agglutination of B. pertussis suspended in a colloidal solution. These data parallel previous work to indicate that IgM antibodies to bacterial surface antigens are more efficient than IgG molecules in initiating biological processes concerned with the inactivation of these pathogens.

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla.

² Present address: Department of Bacteriology, University of Hawaii.

³ Recipient of a Career Development award (1-K3 AI-2285601) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Present address: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Md.