Rapid determination of in vivo and in vitro antibody responses by suspension hemolytic assay

A suspension hemolytic (SH) assay newly modified in this laboratory was applied to the measurement of primary IgM antibody responses, such as T-dependent, T-independent, and polyclonal B cell responses in in vivo and in vitro assays. All results of the SH assay were equal to those of the conventional plaque-forming cell (PFC) assay. With the SH assay in in vitro assays, we could separately measure the amount of the IgM that had been produced during the whole immunization period and measure the IgM newly produced during the shorter time of the assay. The immunomodulations by dioxin and glycopeptide were accurately evaluated by the SH and the PFC assay. Our study suggested that the SH assay modified in this laboratory was more advantageous because of the simplicity of the assay and better analysis of data than the PFC assay, and could be used as the primary method in studying the effects of pharmaceutical and toxic agents on humoral immune functions.