IgE antibodies for penicillins and cephalosporins in rats. III. Antigenic specificity of rat anti-cephalosporin-OvA IgE sera.

Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were immunized with various cephalosporin- and penicillin-ovalbumin (OvA) in combination with aluminium hydroxide (alum) and thimerosal-killed Bordetella pertussis. Anti-cephalosporin IgE antibody production was inferior to anti-penicillin IgE antibody production. Cefsulodin (CFS), sulbenicillin (SBPC) and alpha-sulfophenyl acetic acid (SPAA) cross-reacted with each other but did not react with cephaloridine (CER), cefazolin (CEZ) and penicillin G (PCG). CER and PCG slightly cross-reacted with each other but did not cross-react with the others tested. Anti-CFS and anti-SBPC IgE sera were related specifically to the SPAA moiety.