Bovine reaginic antibody. II. Preparation of an anti-reaginic immunoglobulin.

A method of preparing an antiserum to bovine reaginic immunoglobulins is described. This procedure which relies on the ability of bovine reaginic immunoglobulin to attach to rat mast cells, results in an antiserum which upon absorption with rat and bovine materials did not react with rat serum or with bovine IgG1, IgG2, IgM and IgA. The antiserum did, however, react in a gel diffusion assay with PCA positive bovine globulin and a reaginic immunoglobulin-rich fraction of bovine serum. Further, anti-reaginic immunoglobulin activity was shown by binding to and degranulation of rat mast cells previously incubated with PCA positive bovine globulin. The antiserum prevented sensitization of calf skin in a PCA reaction while anti-human IgE did not.