Comparison of in vitro behaviour and in vivo efficacy of two 7S-immunoglobulin preparations for intravenous use.

Two intravenous 7S-immunoglobulin (IgG) preparations, beta-propiolactone(beta-PL)-treated (Intraglobin) and hydrochloric acid/pepsin-treated, were tested for their in vitro behaviour in haemagglutination, anticomplementary activity and binding to SPA-sepharose. These results were compared with the efficacy of these preparations in vivo, using mouse protection tests with Salmonella and Pseudomonas as a challenge. In spite of marked differences in the in vitro behaviour, both preparations showed almost the same efficacy in vivo. These results indicate that in vitro findings do not allow predictions of the in vivo efficacy of intravenous IgG preparations.