title: Adjuvant activity of mycobacterial fractions. I. Purification and in vivo adjuvant activity of cell wall skeletons of Mycobacterium bovis BCG, Nocardia asteroides 131 and Corynebacterium diphtheriae PW8.
abstract: The adjuvant activity of cell wall skeletons (mycolic acid-arabino-galactan-mucopeptide, CWS) prepared from the cells of mycobacteria, nocardia and corynebacteria was examined in vivo in mice and guinea pigs. The cell wall skeletons of Mycobacterium bovis BCG (BCG-CWS), Nocardia asteroides 131 and Corynebacterium diphtheriae PWC suspended in Freund's incomplete adjuvant (FIA) as water-in-oil emulsions showed potent adjuvant activity on the formation of circulating antibody and cell-mediated immunity to bovine serum albumin (BSA), sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) and sulfanylazo-bovine serum albumin (SA-BSA) in mice and guinea pigs. After acetylation or acid treatment, BCG-CWS retained its adjuvant activity, but the activity of BCG-CWS was destroyed completely by alkaline treatment. The cell wall constituents, arabinose-mycolate and arabino-galactan, prepared from BCG-CWS showed no adjuvant activity. It was also shown that BCG-CWS suspended in phosphate buffered saline or associated with oil droplets augmented cell-mediated cytotoxicity in which thymus-derived lymphocytes (T-cells) are effector cells.
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids; D000215:Acylation; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000468:Alkalies; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D003353:Corynebacterium diphtheriae / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D009171:Mycolic Acids / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009616:Nocardia asteroides / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000276:immunology; D012756:Sheep / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000468:Alkalies; D000941:Antigens; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D009171:Mycolic Acids; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant