An ELISA test to detect IgG antibody production by rabbit ocular cells.

An ELISA method has been used to document antibody production by the ocular and lymph node cells of rabbits immunized intravitreally with ovalbumin. Simultaneous plaque assays were performed on many of the tissues. We found plaque forming cells in the ocular tissues by day 7. IgG producing cells, as detected by the ELISA assay, were not detected until day 10. Both IgG and IgM producing cells were present in the corneal and uveal tract suspensions throughout the remainder of the observation period. Lymph node and spleen IgG production was usually only detected early in the antibody response.