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. 1970 Jan 31;131(2):377–390. doi: 10.1084/jem.131.2.377

HAPTEN-CARRIER RELATIONSHIPS OF ISOANTIGENS

A MODEL FOR IMMUNOLOGICAL MATURATION BASED ON THE CONVERSION OF HAPTENS TO CARRIERS BY ANTIBODY

Raymond A McBride 1, Louis W Schierman 1
PMCID: PMC2138793  PMID: 4192620

Abstract

In chickens, erythrocyte isoantigens have hapten-carrier relationships. Specific anticarrier antibody depresses the immune response to the carrier and enhances the immune response to the hapten. Antigenic determinants of "haptenic" isoantigens behave as carriers if they are coated with specific antibody. It is postulated that every humoral antibody response involves the cooperation of a carrier with a hapten and the progressive conversion by antibody of haptens to carriers. Thus a carrier is viewed as an antigenic determinant which is coated with antibody. The antibody-forming cell only synthesizes antibody to the uncoated haptenic determinants. The consequences of this interpretation for the development of immunological maturity and the secondary immune response are discussed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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