CELLULAR REACTIONS TO A DYE-PROTEIN WITH A CONCEPT OF THE MECHANISM OF ANTIBODY FORMATION

1. The use of an antigen which can be seen within cells demonstrates that one may stimulate the phagocytic cells either of the liver and spleen or of the tissues and lymph nodes to produce antibodies. 2. The appearance of antibodies in the serum correlates with the time when the dye-protein is no longer visible within the cells and with the phenomenon of a partial shedding of their surface films. 3. It is thus inferred that the cells of the reticulo-endothelial system normally produce globulin and that antibody globulin represents the synthesis of a new kind of protein under the influence of an antigen. 4. An antigen is a substance which can specifically modify the synthesis of the cytoplasm of the cells of the reticulo-endothelial system.