Spontaneous formation of immunogenic conjugates by 3-hydroxy-para-aminobenzoic acid--a biotransformation product of procaine and para-aminobenzoic acid.

3-Hydroxy-para-aminobenzoic acid (3-HPABA), a biotransformation product of procaine and para-aminobenzoic acid, is capable of binding covalently to proteins by simple incubation at alkaline pH. When administered incorporated in Freund adjuvant to rabbits, 3-HPABA conjugates with normal rabbit serum proteins (3-HPABA-NRS) give rise to both hapten specific antibodies and anti-NRS antibodies. Cross immunological reactions were found between 3-HPABA and ortho-aminophenol (OAP) and 3-hydroxy-sulfanilamide (3-HS) immunological systems, but not between 3-HPABA and para-aminophenol (PAP) and 5-aminosalicyclic acid (5-ASA) immunological systems. The significance of these findings for the explanation of procaine allergy and the possible use of 3-HPABA conjugates for skin testing in procaine hypersensitivity is discussed.