Deposition of immune complexes in the ovarian follicle of rabbits with experimental chronic serum sickness. I. Immunopathology.

In the present study, deposition of antigen-antibody complexes in the ovarian follicles of the rabbit is described. Forty-one rabbits were immunized with multiple daily injections of bovine serum albumin. Twenty-two rabbits developed systemic chronic serum sickness. The ovaries of rabbits with systemic chronic serum sickness, those of the immunized rabbits that did not develop systemic chronic serum sickness, and those of the nonimmunized rabbits were studied by light, electron, and immunofluorescence microscopy. It was found that granular deposits of bovine serum albumin, rabbit IgG, and C3, presumably as antigen-antibody complexes, were frequently present in the zona pellucida of secondary and tertiary follicles, and in the corpora atretica of rabbits with systemic chronic serum sickness. The oocytes showed an increased number of vacuoles and phagosomes containing electron-opaque material. These observations may contribute to the study of immunologic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of the female reproductive system.