Abstract
Various kinds of antibiotics are generally believed to have inhibitory effects on the antibody response. However, as polymyxin B which belongs to the cyclic polypeptide group of antibiotic was found to have some enhancing effects on the antibody response of rabbits to enterobacterial common antigen(CA) under specified conditions, experiments were carried out on this problem with the following results. 1. When mixture of polymyxin B and CA derived from Salmonella typhimurium(STM) was treated 30 minutes at $37^{\circ}C$ and injected three times into rabbits by intravenous route, the antibody response to CA was weaker than rabbits injected CA only. 2. Mixture of polymyxin B and CA showed a marked antibody production when injected into rabbits primed with small amounts of heat-extracted antigen of STM, while the injection of CA alone showed low titers of response. 3. Mixture of polymyxin B and heat-extracted CA-containing antigen of Escherichia coli 014 also showed a increased antibody production than CA alone in rabbits primed with antigen of STM. 4. The effect of polymyxin B appeared in different ways. This antibiotic did not enhance the CA antibody response in rabbits primed with small amounts of E. coli 0111 and 055, but enhance in rabbits primed with Shigella flexneri. 5. No enhancing effect on the antibody response was observed by polymyxin B in rabbits primed with CA. 6. No enhancing effect on the antibody response was also noted in rabbits primed with STM antigen in case polymyxin B and CA were administered simultaneously but in veins of different places. 7. Bacitracin did not enhance the CA antibody response in primed rabbits with STM antigen, but neomycin slightly enhance the response. 8. Lipopolysaccharide showed no priming effect on the CA antibody response, and no enhancement of the CA antibody response in rabbits printed with STM. 9. The priming effect of STM antigen against CA antibody response was very weak as compared with the effect of CA derived from STM antigen.