TABLE 1.
Antibody levels of female C3H-HeN 6- to 8-week-old mice injected s.c. with 1 μg of either native MEP mixed with KLH or an MEP-KLH conjugate
| Immunogen | Target antigena | Isotype | Geometric mean (n = 5) serum titer (range) on:
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 7 | Day 14 | Day 21 | |||
| MEP-KLH conjugate | MEP | IgG | <50b | 110c (<50-1,680) | 17,263c (6,980-30,050) |
| MEP | IgM | 600d (340-2,500) | 530 (380-1,530) | 940 (640-1,730) | |
| KLH | IgG | 60e (0-1,550) | 17,180e (5,790-45,470) | 13,020e (2,930-25,570) | |
| MEP plus KLH mixture | MEP | IgG | <50b | <50b | <50b |
| MEP | IgM | 430d (280-670) | 370 (310-600) | 290 (230-340) | |
| KLH | IgG | 70e (30-300) | 29,340e (11,830-45,500) | 97,540e (66,540-149,390) | |
MEP, microtiter plates coated with MEP derived from strain 2192.
Serum dilutions started at 1:50.
MEP-KLH conjugate elicited a significant rise in anti-MEP IgG after the second injection (P < 0.001 [as determined by repeated-measures ANOVA and the Bonferroni test for pairwise comparison]) and after a third injection (P < 0.01).
IgM titers after immunization with either MEP-KLH conjugate or a mixture of MEP and KLH rose significantly after the first injection (P < 0.001) but not after the booster injection.
KLH elicited a significant increase in anti-KLH IgG after the first injection (P < 0.001) and a booster response after the second injection (P < 0.001) in mice immunized with either MEP-KLH conjugate or with a mixture of MEP and KLH.