TRANSPLACENTAL TRANSMISSION OF HOMOTRANSPLANTATION ANTIBODIES

Pregnant rabbits were sensitized to unrelated does by skin transplantation. The offspring of these sensitized animals rejected skin from the same donor in a markedly accelerated fashion. The transplacental passage of agents responsible for homograft rejection is therefore suggested. Since accelerated rejection rather than enhancement occurred, more than the usual humoral antibodies must have been thus transmitted. The presence of another antibody-like substance is postulated. This appears to be sessile in nature, usually fixed to lymphocytes, but transmissible without these cells under special circumstances, such as occur in micropore chambers or hemochorial placentae. These allow the prolonged dose contact of sensitized and non-sensitized lymphocytes, and thus may permit the transfer of this, usually sessile, but apparently non-fixed antibody.