Abstract
The effect of lymphocytosis-promoting factor (LPF), purified from culture fluid of Bordetella pertussis, on the production of IgE-type reaginic antibody was examined in the rat. Rats were immunized with dinitrophenylated Ascarissuum extract and injected with submicrogram doses of LPF. It was found that LPF, given either intracutaneously or intravenously, exerted a strong adjuvant effect on the production of reaginic antibody, and that the mean peak titers obtained were proportional to the dosage of LPF. Furthermore, the adjuvant activity of killed pertussis vaccine in the reaginic antibody formation correlated with its content of LPF. The results are compatible with the idea that LPF causes depletion of a certain type of lymphocyte in the lymphatic tissues that normally regulates IgE antibody response, resulting in the enhancement of reaginic antibody formation.