Guinea Pig Anti-Insulin Serum: Adjuvant Effect of H. Pertussis Vaccine

After three injections at weekly intervals of insulin in a water-in-oil emulsion containing H. pertussis vaccine, guinea pigs were given the same inoculum containing no vaccine at intervals of four weeks. At the first bleeding after eight weeks, most animals yielded serum binding more than 1.0 U. insulin per milliliter; the mean binding capacities of sera from animals in four out of seven groups exceeded 4.5 U. insulin per milliliter. Over eighteen months, five groups totalling 136 animals yielded 3,000 ml. serum, the pooled sera from each group binding 2.7 to 4.8 U. insulin per milliliter. It is concluded that use of H. pertussis vaccine offers a reliable method for the production of large volumes of potent anti-insulin serum.