Characterization of new antigenic determinants introduced into homologous serum albumin by dinitrophenylation and sulphanylation.

Studies on the immune response against hapten-autologous protein carriers in mice, guinea-pigs and rabbits have shown that the new antigenic determinants introduced in the carrier molecule by the hapten coupling reaction play an important role in the induction of both immunity and tolerance to these conjugates. The present experiments were designed to elucidate the specificity of the new antigenic determinants induced (1) by different haptens through the same coupling procedure and (2) by the same hapten coupled by different procedures. The results showed that both the nature of the hapten and the coupling procedure played a role in the serological specificity of the new antigenic determinants.