Immunological Properties of a Typical (s-producing) and a Degraded (non-s-producing) Strain of Type Ii Pneumococcus with Special Reference to Protective Antibodies

The loss of the specialized function of S production by Type II pneumococcus was accompanied by a loss of the antigenic properties involved in both active and passive protection of mice. Absorption of Type II serum with S-producing pneumococci removed all the protective antibodies, as well as the type-specific agglutinins and S precipitins. The same absorption treatment of the serum by non-S-producing pneumococci failed entirely to remove the type-specific antibodies and did not affect the protective value of the serum. Absorption with bacteria-free culture fluids containing the reactive carbohydrate removed the protective antibodies as completely as absorption with the whole bacterial cells of type-specific strains. The results taken as a whole indicate that the antibodies involved in the usual protection of mice against Type II pneumococci are closely related, if not identical, to the specific anticarbohydrate precipitin.