Purification and properties of non-precipitating rabbit antibodies.

Precipitating and non-precipitating anti-egg albumin and anti-dinitrophenyl rabbit antibodies were specifically purified from hyperimmunized sera. Both populations of antibody were similar with regard to electrophoretic mobility and molecular size. Non-precipitating antibodies brought about passive haemagglutination and PCA, although with less efficiency than precipitating antibodies. On the other hand, only precipitating antibodies fixed complement and produced a reverse Arthus reaction. The F(ab′) fragment obtained from non-precipitating antibody did not precipitate with antigen. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that non-precipitability is due to a particular configuration of the molecule that makes it impossible for one molecule of antibody to combine with two different molecules of antigen simultaneously.