Experimental Serum Disease

Abstract

The intravenous injection of one large dose of serum into rabbits caused a variety of changes of considerable complexity. 1. There was an immediate proliferation of mesenchymal cells, including plasma cells, particularly in heart, lungs, and spleen. 2. The signs of serum disease developed only at the time of abundant antibody formation, before significant quantities of antibody were laid down in the vascular connective tissue. 3. Allergic arteritis, marked glomerular nephritis, myocardial necrosis, and Aschoff body-like structures were seen only after hypersensitivity had developed. It appears that most, if not all, of these pathological alterations were true Arthus phenomena. 4. There were at least two distinct varieties of allergic arteritis and glomerular nephritis, namely a proliferative one, following the first injection, and a a necrotizing one, seen only after 2 injections. It appears that the first was a subacute Arthus phenomenon, while the latter was an acute Arthus phenomenon superimposed on a subacute one. The subacute experimental glomerular nephritis resembled the intracapillary glomerulonephritis in man, while the acute variety was like human extracapillary glomerular nephritis.

The Effects of Various Horse Serum Fractions in Producing Cardiovascular and Renal Lesions in Rabbits

“…Moycarditis.--Areas of necrosis of varying size and similar to those described previously (13) were noted in the right ventricle of about one-half of the rabbits in each group. These lesions are apparently similar to those described by Longcope (19), Apitz (20), and more recently by Ehrich (17).…”

“…On the basis of our findings it seems probable that there are two types of glomerular lesions following the injections of foreign serum as Ehrich eta/. (17) have recently claimed. One is a focal necrotizing glomerulitis which is found in rabbits receiving any one of several of the serum fractions and the other a diffuse transient glomerular lesion which occurs relatively soon and particularly after the injection of the serum globulins.…”

“…_Pcricarditis.--Pericarditis has not been a consistent finding of previous observers studying rabbit serum disease although it has been mentioned by Ehrich el al. (17). We found focal pericarditis consisting of infiltration by mononuclear cells, especially about the base of the heart in 12 of the animals.…”

A Consideration of the so-called Collagen or Systemic Connective Tissue Diseases (Part 2 of 2)

“…To indicate further the possible immunologic character of the vascular lesions of hypersensitivity, we demonstrated, in con junction with Cohen (253), that these vascular lesions may well be induced in normal recipients (rabbits) by passive sensitization. By this technique one could eliminate the possibility that the patho logic changes are induced, as has been supposed (254)(255)(256)(257)(258)(259), by the toxic or non-specific action accompanying administration of large doses of foreign serum. Chemical agents interfere with tins effect of passive sensitization (260) ; thus a strong relation seems to exist between the collagen diseases and hypersensitivity (261,262).…”

Experimental Globulin Glomerulonephritis in Rabbits

“…(Received for publication, March 8, 1952) In a previous publication it was shown that acute diffuse glomerulonephritis develops in rabbits injected intravenously with large quantities of purified bovine serum gamma globulin (1). Other investigators have produced experimental glomerulonephritis by giving animals intravenous injections of either normal horse serum (2)(3)(4)(5)(6), normal duck serum (4), a number of "antikidney sera" (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), antiplacenta serum (16), or horse (17) or bovine (1,18) serum gamma globulins. The number of these substances, and the variety of technics employed in their use, at once suggest that if a single pathogenetic explanation is valid for the glomerulonephritis in all cases, it must bring into harmony the differences in experimental procedures.…”