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Suppression and Enhancement of Antibody Formation by Alteration of Ca2+ Levels

Nature volume 226, pages 945–946 (1970)Cite this article

Abstract

IT is becoming clear that membrane events are important in antibody formation—in the recognition and handling of immunogens, in the activation and multiplication of antibody-forming cells, and in the interaction of the several cell types involved1. Various agents (for example, chlorpromazine, epinephrine, antilymphocyte sera and phytohaemagglutinin) known to alter membrane permeability can change the magnitude and, in some cases, the specificity of the antibody response, but most of the reported effects had been transient and weak2–6. Because calcium ions are known to influence many membrane-associated events7–23, we tested the influence of altered levels of Ca2+ on antibody formation in vivo, and have observed striking changes which, depending on the timing of the alteration, involved either enhancement or suppression of responses to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in mice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903

    WERNER BRAUN & MASAAKI ISHIZUKA

  2. Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, 5

    PHILIP SEEMAN

Authors
  1. WERNER BRAUN
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  2. MASAAKI ISHIZUKA
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  3. PHILIP SEEMAN
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BRAUN, W., ISHIZUKA, M. & SEEMAN, P. Suppression and Enhancement of Antibody Formation by Alteration of Ca2+ Levels. Nature 226, 945–946 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/226945a0

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