Effects of the number of DNP groups on dinitrophenylated human serum albumin upon the induction of immunological memory for the dinitrophenyl determinant.

Immunological memory to the DNP determinant is shown to be a positive correlate of the primary anti-DNP response and of the extent of DNP substitution in the priming antigen. Antigen dose-response curves for immunological memory first increase with antigen dose to reach a maximum and then decrease in the high dose region. Increasing the extent of DNP substitution in the priming antigen shifts the dose-response curves to lower antigen doses and promotes the antigen's ability to induce immunological memory to a level greater than that expected by its ability to induce a primary response. The findings are interpreted in terms of postulated effects of degree of DNP substitution on the binding of antigen to cell receptors.