Production of antibodies to sheep red blood cells and Brucella abortus in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).

The levels of total and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME)-resistant antibodies in male Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) were higher than those in male C57BL/6 mice after the first and second immunizations. On the other hand, the total antibody level to Brucella abortus (BA) in gerbils was comparable to that in mice, whereas 2-ME-resistant antibody titers were lower after the first and second immunizations than in mice. After injection of 8 x 10(4) SRBC, male gerbils did not produce either total or 2-ME-resistant antibodies after the first immunization, but they produced total and 2-ME-resistant antibodies after the first to the fourth immunizations with different dilutions of BA, and both types of antibody titers significantly increased with the repeated immunizations. There were no sex differences in total and 2-ME-resistant antibody production to SRBC.